WW: The best is yet to come

Alas, my 30^th birthday came and went two months ago, and I’m finally getting around to posting about it. It was such a fun weekend! As the years pass I am convinced that it keeps getting better with each year. I mean, I know I'm only 30 and have quite a bit of life left to live, God willing, but I'd bet that my folks would agree that life gets oh-so-much-sweeter with age. Here are some pics of the weekend...

[caption id="attachment_214" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Surprise dinner in Denver with friends. Thanks husband![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_215" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Denver gals plus Kathryn and Jessica who surprised me from Dallas. Love you girls![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_216" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Cheers to 30 more years of friendship![/caption]

In honor of this new decade, I took a quick look back on my 20s. It was fun, terrifying, and slightly embarrassing to reminisce. Ah, memories. I wrote down some influential decisions made in my 20s.

1. Graduating college. I’m going to go ahead and count this as a decision because I totally decided not to blow it off. Counts right? Not only did I successfully graduate (within 4 years may I add), but I was also blessed to have all my grandparents travel to Missouri from Texas to be a part of it. I have some fun memories of that weekend, and truly value that time with family.


2. Accepting a summer internship instead of pursuing a job immediately after college. I took a summer internship with a company right after college graduation. That position changed but the company did not, and was where I spent the last 8 years of my professional life. I found my career and calling through of this internship, and held 5 different positions and lived in four different cities due to this J-O-B. It has shaped who I am probably more than any other thing in my life. I am lucky to have lived this quote by Confucius: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”  This chapter in my book recently closed, but it was one of my most FAVORITE reads and has hands down made the biggest impact on me over the past decade.


3. My first post-college, live-by-and-support yourself apartment. Y’all we lived large in this place, spent money we didn’t have and explored our new-found freedom in Uptown Dallas. We loved it. I can’t say I made the best decisions during this first year of freedom- but I learned a lot, grew up a lot, and had a blast with the girls.


4. Living in Dallas. I look back at my time in my hometown of Dallas, Texas post-college, and it was seriously one of the most fun times of my life. I have since moved and am in the process of making a new city home, so now I MAJORLY value this time that I had in D-town. Having that time with all my high school friends, being close to my family, and living in such a fun young city was priceless.


5. Accepting a job in New York City. When I first got the call about this opportunity I said, without hesitation, “no way.”  However I did make that visit to the city that never sleeps, and lo and behold fell in love with the city, the job, and ultimately took the plunge and made the move. I can’t describe what it FEELS like to live in Manhattan, but I can tell you it is one of the most liberating and empowering feelings in the world. You find yourself in that place, or rather - it somehow discovers you. Whatever it is, it’s magical and living there is one of those puzzle pieces that I needed to feel complete.


6. Taking that trip to Vegas and saying yes to the guy with the Wal-Mart ring. Another city I loved to hate, but after meeting my now husband on his whirlwind trip to Dallas for a football bowl game, he invited me out to Las Vegas for a visit. After consulting my mother, another close friend, and a colleague over margaritas, I decided, what the hell. Two years later he proposed with a cubic zirconium ring from Wal-Mart and it was MAGIC! Saying yes was and probably will be the most defining moment of all decades to come.


7. The birth of our baby boy. He is delicious, challenging and all things perfect. Jeff and I were born to have this child, and he truly is the best decision that life allowed us to make, and God trusted us to bring into this world.

I always say that it is crazy how one decision can change the rest of your life. So make decisions wisely when you can and spontaneously when you need to, and as Frank Sinatra always said...the “best is yet to come.” Has there been a decision that you made that truly defined you?

With LOTS of age and wisdom,
Lauren :)