Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Three-oh


I turn 30 tomorrow, April 26th. Sorry for the lack of a forewarning.


Actually, I can't confirm I'm 30 as of tomorrow. I very well could be 39 or 40, based on appearance. My earliest memories that can date me are of opening G.I. Joe toys on Christmas. Does that sound about 30 to you? I don't remember seeing a man walk on the moon or the day Kennedy was shot. I don't think.


Oh, and they were the small G.I. Joes, the 4-inch toys, not the 12-inch Joe "with Kung-Fu grip." Just to clarify.


I have two stories on turning 30:


1) My best friend Solo sent me a photo on my cell phone this Tuesday. The image was his hands holding out a "3" and a "0." I looked at this photo and thought, "what the?" Then, suddenly it dawned on me -- Tracy McGrady must be going off in the Rockets game. I better check out the score... But the score was 41-38 in the second quarter, or something. No way T-Mac already had 30. I sat there, dumbfounded. And then, finally, the meaning of "3-0" struck me...


2) My friend/boss Bryce walked into my office the same day. "Welcome to the decade," he told me. I looked at him, mystified. What was I doing that made me seem to be in the stone age? Isn't that what that meant? "Welcome to the decade." I must be doing something that would cause him to mock me just now coming into the 2000s, right? And then, "decade"... again, it dawned on me.
I guess I've never thought about how old I am. It's never really been in my mind. Even when people ask me how old I am, I have to think about it. And then I blurt out a number, and I silently ask myself, "Is that right?"
For the record: On my last day of my 20s, I'm sitting here next to my 4-month-old daughter, who is asleep, while my wife of 7 months is at study group with her college classmates. I'm watching the NBA playoffs. I'm typing on a blog. I'm on my second Boulevard Wheat. I feel healthy, for the most part (I've been in much better shape). I'm mostly gray-headed. My lower back hurts. And I'm still alive.
A good 30 revolutions. Thanks for helping make it memorable.

4 comments:

tsweeten said...

dude, quit yer sissy-mary cryin' about turning 30. I turned 30 months ago and I can still run circles around most the turks out there. Besides, think of it this way...30 is more respectable than say, 20 (plus you're closer to getting senior citizen discounts)

John said...

30s have been tons more fun than my 20s. Sure, I go to bed earlier now. And there's more responsibilities. And my body feels older. And college kids call me "sir" too much. And I'm losing my hair...

What was I saying again? Oh, and my memory's going. And....

Trish said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Now you are officially a dirty old man. Does it help to know that I'll be turning a mere 25 years old in may. But that's nothing compared to 30.

Wow........I mean.......Wow.....

Just Kidding ! You're the hottest 30 year old Daddy I know.

Commodore Lerve said...

Could Trish qualify that statement more? I'm just waiting for Adro to blog on her something like "I'd like to ride that highway" or something like that.

It had to be said.

Slainte to you my friend. Let's make the next 30 exponentially better than the first.