To avoid feeling pathetic back then though, I decided that turning 30 would be much more enjoyable away from the land of “single over 30 makes you a loser.” So, my roommate and good friend, Mary Beth and I hightailed to San Francisco, the land of “nobody cares that you are single and over thirty!”
It was on this trip that I fell in love with cable cars, Alcatraz, The Golden Gate Bridge, sesame cookies, Chinatown, and Redwood trees.
There is nothing better than a city where you can get anywhere you really need to by hanging out of the side of a cable car, feeling the balmy air through your hair, enjoying the bells of the car and clammer of the underground cable, captivated by the skill of a gripman, who carefully maneuvers the car up and down the slopes of San Francisco. I have since been back to SF a few more times and I seriously could ride cable cars all day and be content. In fact, one day I did just that, while the group of friends I was traveling with went to Alcatraz(I had been twice and didn’t feel the need to go that day!).
As I am now mothering two little humans, I travel a little differently. Sometimes I mourn my single days and wish I had cherished the moments a bit more. Maybe not the moment that Mary Beth and I realized the beach we were exploring was in fact a nude beach(some moments need not be cherished) but the other moments like the ones I feel I may have wasted by worrying about being judged for being single or the moments I pinned for the whole not being single anymore.
I turned 44 this past Monday. Funny, that turning 44 didn’t make me feel old. Life often seems to be getting better and better with age. I know who I am, what I want, and what I can say no to. Aging is truly liberating.
Whatever spot you are on the age timeline, may you take a step back and reflect on where you have been and more importantly on where you are going. Make each moment one to be cherished and enjoy the journey.
Age is just a number after all.
