30 and loving it!

Day 7 of the July Blog Challenge

if you could live in any time period of the past, when would it be and why?

I love this question because I love history. Part of me wishes I could have majored in history in college. So to answer, I would pick the British imperial century (1815-1914). Some of my favorite books like Around the World in 80 Days and Les Miserables were set during that time period. I especially love reading about British exploration of India.

So . . .

today is my birthday! 30th birthday, to be exact. But ten years ago today, I was here:

I was serving as an intern with Wonder Voyage Missions. It was a great experience – living in Athenry, Ireland for 5 weeks in the summer of 2002 while helping lead teams from the U.S. That summer we hosted 3 teams. At the time of my twentieth birthday, we were hosting our first team, a fun group of college students from west Texas. What I remember about my birthday is we were dropped off somewhere in Galway’s city streets and had to find our way to this amusement park of sorts called Leisure Land. It was so much fun trying to navigate our way through this bustling city. I also remember going on my first and only ferris wheel ride that day. It was near the beach area, during an air show. Here’s the view from the ferris wheel:

And now, ten years later, I celebrate my thirtieth birthday! It’s been a great day so far and a wonderful start to this new year. How did I celebrate? By spending it with some of my favorite people ever. My parents came over this morning and cooked me a Filipino breakfast. Yep, that’s what I requested. A good ‘ol fashioned Filipino breakfast. Scrambled eggs, tapa (cured beef), bangus (smoked milkfish), dilis (dried anchovies) and plain fried rice. Odd to you but absolutely delicious to me. It was quite a treat. Then, I took my parents and my baby to our town’s community market. North Texas humidity and heat was awful so we only stayed for like, 10 minutes. Afterwards, we went back home to pick up my husband and off we went to take my first ride on our town’s new light rail. I’ve ridden trains before but I just had never ridden this particular light rail since it opened. I know, I’m like a kid. I really was so giddy that I got to ride a train for my birthday! What can I say? I’m very easily pleased. It was so much fun 🙂 Plus, it was also my son’s first train ride. He won’t remember today so I’ll just have to take him again when he’s older!

with my mom at the train station

with my dad

with my husband and son

my son and I

After our little train ride, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in town. Good food and even better company. So yeah, compared to most people’s thirtieth birthday celebrations, mine was very very low-key, maybe even dorky, but it’s what I wanted. I didn’t really need to have an “adventure” to ring in my thirtieth birthday. I’ve had a very good life up to this point, with so many adventures. My life is full! I’ve gotten to travel to seven different countries, all before I turned 25; I graduated with my bachelor’s degree when I was 21 years old; I have a tattoo (which I got while in Ireland – how cool is that?); I’ve gotten to hike the Slieve League (Europe’s highest sea cliffs), stay at the foothills of the Himalayas in a small town in China, prayer walk in the Bale National Park in Ethiopia and see the splendor of the Canadian Rockies; I’ve run 4 half-marathons and a handful of 5Ks; I rode in two homecoming parades with my BSM friends; I got married to my best friend when I was 23; I had my first baby this April; I love my job as an administrative assistant at one of the largest music colleges in the country; and I have the best family and friends. I’d say I’ve been pretty blessed, don’t you think? I have SO MUCH to be thankful for.

So, I embrace my 30’s! I embrace possibly looking like I’m not 18 years old anymore, hehe. I embrace the challenges and adventures ahead. I embrace growth, even if it is painful. And I continue to embrace my God who has molded and shaped me to be the woman I am today. Happy birthday to me!