This is a journal entry I wrote the day I turned thirty years old. It’s been just sitting around for about six months, and though I don’t know what to do with it, I don’t want to just throw it out. So this seems like a good place for it...
Today is the day I turn thirty. Thirty years old today. I’ve always said I wasn't afraid of turning thirty; until today as I realize the weight of responsibility awaiting me for my next thirty years. In my first thirty, I’ve been a son, a brother, a friend, a student, and a teacher, a father, and a husband. Every mistake, every victory, has made me who I m today. I look back on my last thirty years; though some of them are a little fuzzy, every step is necessary to become an experienced adult. Knowledge comes from classes, wisdom comes from life.
I have yet to meet a man who is the perfect husband, or the perfect father. All we can do is what we think is best. As I look to the next thirty years our mistakes now affect others much more than ourselves. As a “responsible adult” we are held to a higher standard. Looked to as examples of how to live, and act. We achieve higher positions of control; often making decisions that affect other peoples lives. Now more than before, it is so important to be strong, consistent and compassionate with every decision we make.
My next thirty years I will raise my children through their first thirty years. Raise them to be kind in a world full of hate; compassionate in a world full of greed; courageous in a world full of indifference. I will keep a strong marriage in a world with less than 50% of marriages lasting. Make time for friends and family while making enough to live, retire, pay for music & sports, cars and college, weddings and grandbabies. So suddenly the next thirty is so much more important. Anything worth doing isn’t easy.
Fret not though, I think I’m off to a good start. My hair is falling out, I’ve got a windshield on my motorcycle, and I tuck my shirt in on the daily. I’ve survived thirty years of life, ten years of tree work; even a few rides on the bike. Perturbation. A word I learned during a life-changing trainer intensive course. To go through a time of immense pressure, and coming out for the better, like a diamond. So, in the next thirty years, it may be a bald head; but I’ll still be shining.
As I typed this out, I felt like I should read this once a week or so, just to remind myself of whats important.
