Now We Are Six (plus twenty-four)

On Saturday, I will turn 30.

I don't know where my 20s went. I feel like I was 19 looking at 20 just yesterday. My 20s are sort of a blurry haze of awful jobs, late, boozy nights and wasted opportunities. My twenties were entirely mis-spent, a lousy decade I'll never get back.

No, that's not true at all - well, the part about how fast the time goes is, but nothing else. The truth is, overall, the last decade has been great. I had good times with good friends. I met an amazing woman when I was 24, with whom I've had great times and many adventures. Before I turn 31, I will be married to her. I've run a marathon. I've been to China and all over the United States. Yeah, there are things I could have done differently, or better. But I decided a long time ago that regrets are a useless waste of time and effort.

I don't think birthdays are really a good time to look back, anyway. Knowing that ever-increasing number and looking backwards is really just an invitation to just that kind of self-destructive and meaningless introspection. Birthdays are an opportunity to look forward. By choice, I say not, "Oh my God, I'm already 30!" but rather, "Hey, I'm only 30 - plenty of time to do it all, right?" Okay, maybe I'm not going to "do it all," but I'll die trying. I'm excited about what the next decade is going to bring.

Still, it feels a little weird.