Today's guest post comes courtesy of my favorite Southern Belle, Brynn, over at Wicked Sweet Tea! This fabulous lady is in the midst of wedding planning (less than 30 days away from the big day!) So stop by her blog and send some love! And...here's Brynn! (Thank you SO much for your post!)
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Things my 30's have taught me
I turned 30 last December and I've been reflecting on some of my biggest lessons I've learned this year.
Shifting Happens
One of the first things I noticed this year was that although I was the same size as I was last year, my body "shifted" in a manner akin to a house settling. Everything on my body is lower. My booty is a good inch lower and let's not discuss the difference between 20's boobs and 30's boobs, shall we?
Not only are your laugh lines a little deeper, but so are your friendships.
I think what I've appreciated most about this year is that your 30's have a way of refining your friendships into really solid bonds while letting the frivolous ones go. As your life is maturing and your biggest stressors are along the lines of "Can we afford this house?", "Should we have a child", "We need to cut out salt for our blood pressure", you value the friendships that have matured along with you. Friends who have an appreciation for the interest rate, how to fold napkins for your first Thanksgiving you are hosting your "particular" mother-in-law, and whom you can call at 3:00 a.m. asking for advice with a baby's raging fever or whooping cough start replacing the friendships that start appearing superficial.
This year has been the worst and best year of my life. I have gone through one of the hardest times in my life and it showed me what friends would be there in the rough times. I was truly surprised at the friendships that became stronger and which ones fizzled. When doing the guest list for our wedding next month, I realized I really only wanted to invite friends to the wedding who were there in the times of difficulty and in the times of celebration. Because at the end of the day, I realized friendships are investments and I only want to be surrounded by people who are invested in our lives.
How you define yourself changes
In my 20's, I tended to define myself in superficial ways such as how I looked, what job I had and what circle I was a member of. These days, I define myself not by my superficial merits, but in values and in how I enrich others' lives. & not only do I change how I define myself, I define my friends differently. No longer is Beth Anne referred to as "my super skinny, gorgeous, sorority sister who works for THE ::insert pseudo famous name here::". Beth Anne is now referred to as, "my amazing friend who is incredibly organized who can not only make 48 cupcakes from scratch for her son's classroom, but also manages to go on a mission trip to Haiti with her husband". Now Beth Anne is still everything I first referred to her as, but she's so much more than that.
Just like I am.
There's many, many things I've learned during this past year but I guess everything sums up to this... I've learned who I really am, what really matters to me and who really matters to me.
& that my jeans will never fit the same again.
I turned 30 last December and I've been reflecting on some of my biggest lessons I've learned this year.
Shifting Happens
One of the first things I noticed this year was that although I was the same size as I was last year, my body "shifted" in a manner akin to a house settling. Everything on my body is lower. My booty is a good inch lower and let's not discuss the difference between 20's boobs and 30's boobs, shall we?
Not only are your laugh lines a little deeper, but so are your friendships.
I think what I've appreciated most about this year is that your 30's have a way of refining your friendships into really solid bonds while letting the frivolous ones go. As your life is maturing and your biggest stressors are along the lines of "Can we afford this house?", "Should we have a child", "We need to cut out salt for our blood pressure", you value the friendships that have matured along with you. Friends who have an appreciation for the interest rate, how to fold napkins for your first Thanksgiving you are hosting your "particular" mother-in-law, and whom you can call at 3:00 a.m. asking for advice with a baby's raging fever or whooping cough start replacing the friendships that start appearing superficial.
This year has been the worst and best year of my life. I have gone through one of the hardest times in my life and it showed me what friends would be there in the rough times. I was truly surprised at the friendships that became stronger and which ones fizzled. When doing the guest list for our wedding next month, I realized I really only wanted to invite friends to the wedding who were there in the times of difficulty and in the times of celebration. Because at the end of the day, I realized friendships are investments and I only want to be surrounded by people who are invested in our lives.
How you define yourself changes
In my 20's, I tended to define myself in superficial ways such as how I looked, what job I had and what circle I was a member of. These days, I define myself not by my superficial merits, but in values and in how I enrich others' lives. & not only do I change how I define myself, I define my friends differently. No longer is Beth Anne referred to as "my super skinny, gorgeous, sorority sister who works for THE ::insert pseudo famous name here::". Beth Anne is now referred to as, "my amazing friend who is incredibly organized who can not only make 48 cupcakes from scratch for her son's classroom, but also manages to go on a mission trip to Haiti with her husband". Now Beth Anne is still everything I first referred to her as, but she's so much more than that.
Just like I am.
There's many, many things I've learned during this past year but I guess everything sums up to this... I've learned who I really am, what really matters to me and who really matters to me.
& that my jeans will never fit the same again.
Nicely put! Things also tend to change after kids enter the picture. I happened to turn thirty right before my daughter was born, and everything I've adopted in that first month of being thirty was changed yet again when every rule became preempted by "The baby".
ReplyDeleteOh, and your boobs drop even more. :-)
I couldn't agree more! Things do shift in your 30's, and you are so much more than you ever thought :)
ReplyDeletexoxox,
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