Hello year #37. You kind of crept up on me rather quickly. I’m trying to welcome you with open arms, but I’m not totally sure I’m ready for you yet. But then again, you’re just a number. I think I can handle you. Bring it on!
I thought about doing a serious, self reflection post on turning 37 but after a night of fine sushi, sake, and beer, I’m in a giddy mood so instead, here are 25 of my own revelations as I turn another year older…
1. I no longer remember what it’s like to sleep in, and why I wasted so much of my time sleeping in.
2. When I first started my wedding planning business at age 26, I was younger than all of my clients. Now, the tables have turned and all my clients are younger than me.
3. Marriage is hard work. Like really, really hard. But being in a loving, healthy relationship with my husband is proving to be worth every bit of effort.
3. Decluttering and reorganizing are a few of my favorite ways to de-stress. If I didn’t become a Wedding Planner, I might have opted to become a professional organizer.
4. I spend all my money on traveling and I have no regrets about it.
5. 
6. The most touching compliment my daughter ever gave me was to tell me that she felt I really understood her.
7. Parenting is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. And it’s not something I can ever hope to “master”. I’ll always try to do the best that I can, by practicing “self-awareness parenting.”
8. Everything I learned about self-awareness parenting, I learned from Cathy and Todd Adams from Zen Parenting. Alan introduced me to their podcast several years ago and it has truly been life changing for me.
9. 
10. God ALWAYS has my back.
11. Academics achievement is so overrated. Social and emotional intelligence matters much more to me.
12. I’m at peace now with our decision to keep Bridgette a single child and truly realize the stigma of the “single child syndrome” is silly because there’s also the “older child syndrome”, “middle child syndrome”, and “younger child syndrome”. You just can’t win, so you should do what’s best for your marriage and family.
13. 
14. I’ve always been a dreamer, and I realize now what a blessing that is.
15. I can’t take good health for granted anymore. And I never should have in the first place.
16. My child is not an extension of me, nor is she a reflection on me. She is her own individual being that God entrusted in my hands. My job is to love her, nurture her, protect her, teach her, and to give her wings to fly.
17. My love for reading is one of my greatest gifts. I’m now thankful that my parents had my sister and I spending countless hours in the library when we were young.
18. 
19. Everyone has an untold story, so let’s try to minimize or eliminate our judgements.
20. Work hard, play hard. I embrace this philosophy every day.
22. Friendships are precious. I wish I was better in staying in touch with my childhood friends.
23. When I’m really upset with someone, I picture them as a baby and I’m immediately more forgiving. It’s a great tactic to maintaining my sanity when facing difficult people.
24. 
25. Always, always make time for your marriage and parents even after you have kids.
Oh, and here’s a bonus one that’s pretty awesome:
And one more favorite….
Happy birthday to me! 🙂
Jubilee, that was the most touching testimony; there are also a lot of insights and lessons for all of us to learn. I hope you had a delightful birthday.
Thanks for reading Nellie!
Great post!