March 26th, 2014 
Jessica 
I recently celebrated my 33rd birthday. An older woman at church that Sunday wished me a happy birthday, and then followed it up with, “You don’t have to tell me how old you are.” I laughed and told her I’m 33. For some people I guess 33 is a sobering (or embarrassing) number. If I live to be 100, I’m about a third of the way through my life. But for me, 33 is a wonderful number. I am not ashamed of my age. I have lived a full, beautiful, amazing life. I wouldn’t want to lose any one of those 33 years, or the things I learned along the way. At 33 years old I am doing what I always dreamt I would do. In fact, I wish I could freeze time and stay 33 for the next 67 years because I love these “little years” with my children. Here are 33 reasons I think it’s great to be 33:
- 1 Fantastic Husband
- 2 Great Parents
- 3 Incredible Children
- 4 New Shirts From Twice.com
- 5 Amazing Siblings
- 6 Kids’ DVDs to Distract My Kids
- 7:15am Waking Up to Naomi & Oliver Singing “Happy Birthday!”
- 8 Years of Marriage to my Wonderful Husband
- 9 Years Since Our First Date
- 10 Adorable Fingers & 10 Adorable Toes on my Baby Girl
- 11 Countries I’ve Visited in the World
- 12pm Phone Call from my Sister
- $13,000 Until We’re Debt-Free!
- 14 Years Pimple-Free
- 15 Years Since I Graduated From High School
- 16 Years Since I Grew Out My Perm
- 17 Sprinkle Pancakes
- 18 Months Living in China
- 19 Years of Schooling (Elementary, Middle, High, UnderGrad, Grad)
- 20 Days Until Our Taxes are Due…Which Means Tax Refund!
- 21 Minutes on the Phone with my Sister Last Week Hearing about her New Baby!
- 22 Bags of Frozen Pumpkin & Squash Still In Our Freezer
- 23 Days in Arizona This Summer
- 24 hours since I was Exempted from Jury Duty
- $25 Birthday Check from my Grandmother
- 26 Candles on my German Chocolate Birthday Cake (that’s all we could find!)
- 2720 Miles from California to Visit our Family in Maryland every Thanksgiving
- 28 Years Old When I Found Out I was Pregnant with Naomi
- 29 Inches Tall: Evelyn’s Current Height
- 30 Years Since my Parents Moved from Pennsylvania to Maryland
- 131,598 miles on our Truck (which has been paid off for 4 years)
- 32 Years Since I Became a Big Sister
- 33 States I’ve Visited in the United States
If you’ve celebrated a birthday recently, or will be celebrating one soon, I challenge you to generate a list of reasons why it’s great to be your age. You might be surprised by how much you have to be grateful for!
“Do not regret growing older, it is a privilege denied to many.”–Unknown
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