On Turning 38...

On Saturday, I turned 38. I’m okay with that. Life is good right now...if 38 is anything like 37, this will be a good year.

I can’t say that I ever (back in my teen and college years) thought that I would be in this phase of my life at this age. I thought I would have married sooner, had children sooner... But God knows best. I lived life as a single adult for awhile after college. That is a time in my life that I now value. Looking back, even though I wondered when I would ever get married, I see that God’s timing is better than mine ever could be. I was 27, approaching 28, when we got married, and my husband was 30. There’s something to be said for marrying a little later...you enter into things with a totally different perspective. And for us, it has been excellent.

Then, once I was finally married, the next logical step would be kids. That didn’t come quickly, either. I was one month shy of my 34th birthday when I became a mother for the first time (and that was via international adoption from China, which is another story in itself). Again, I think I am a better parent for all of the waiting. Again, God’s timing is better than mine...

And since then, I had a baby at age 34, and another at 36. Nothing like the whole “advanced maternal age” thing on your chart...I didn’t feel “advanced.” Still don’t, actually. Every once in awhile, like when we’ve been playing in the floor with the kids and don’t bounce up like we used to, hubby and I will say, “And this is why young people have kids this age!” But we say it in a joking way, knowing that we wouldn’t have it any other way.

And then there’s when your 4 year old asks you, “How old will you be on your birthday?” and when you tell her 38, she says, “Wow! That’s a lot!” It’s all a matter of perspective. Someone told me on FB the other day that “40 is the new 30.” I think I like that.

And I still have 2 more years before I get there...