35,000 miles and no major repairs

As my body's odometer turns another year, I guess I could say it has 35,000 miles on it, it seems a good time to ruminate ... introspectively on the past, present and future.

Numbers with a zero, five and nine all lend themselves particularly well to creating the personal equivalent of a business plan. Last fall I realized, while making my first marketing plan at work, that it makes sense to have your own personal plan - measurable, attainable, etc.

So MJ and I started our "Monster Me" initiatives. It sputtered out after a handful of months but it's still around - and it's made a difference. MJ is trying out landscape architecture and I've starting writing. There are other things too, and it feels great to know that we actually delivered against our plan, with what seems like very little effort. Or at least it felt less like a chore and more like fulfillment. So last night after running errands, doing dishes & loads of laundry, I recapped my accomplishments and began another quarter of "Monster Me" goals.

This morning, after six hours of sleep, some breakfast and other stuff, the pre-birthday questions that come to mind are:

What's the next adventure?

What can I do that excites me and won't feel like work while it pays the bills and contributes to my savings?

What's most important? What are my priorities and am I aligning my time appropriately?

If I could do or be anything, what would that be? How can I make that happen? Do I really want to make it happen?

Ok now I'm sounding like Dr. Phil or some self-help evangel that irritates me more than inspires. But just some thoughts for me to chew on ... as I turn thirty-five (which is better than fifty-three, at least for now).

Oh - one more thing - I have found that it really does seem that I am coming into my own more and more. That the 30s are a pretty damn good decade. It's sort of like graduating from playing dress-up as a little girl to finally owning your own wardrobe - complete with fitted clothing and shoes in every color and style. I feel like I'm evolving, becoming more confident in ways I wasn't before, and more aware of who I am and want to be.

I loved my 20s - they were tons of fun. But if this is what it's supposed to be like in your 30s, I'm thinking the 40s could be pretty damn good too.