Reflections

Well, it's February, which, as far as I'm concerned, means that my birthday is just around the corner.

I'm turning 30 this year, and am sort of excited about it. Like, 90% excited, and 10% freaked out.

I think 30 is a big age. To me, I think it means that you're an adult! It's hard to believe that I'm married...for some reason, I guess being a late bloomer, I always thought I'd be married much later in life. Yet, the whole being married thing makes me feel very adult-like.

Anyway, I'm mostly just rambling, but it's nevertheless very exciting. I think I've accomplished a lot in my life in many ways, although in other areas, I'm a bit lacking (i.e. career!). But, as the H always says, "Chacun sa barque" so I don't sweat the small stuff, and I don't think it's such a HUGE deal that I have never really had a "real job".

I guess that this year that I turn 30 has lots of exciting things in store - the H and I moving back to the US, for one. I'm excited and scared at the same time, because things are really going to change for us. I'm a little worried for the H about his moving to the US - he's never really traveled a lot (sorry, but traveling with your school, or going to one of those Club Med resort things with a whole bunch of French people and then never leaving the resort does not count as traveling in my book), so this is a big step for him, and will most likely be a huge shock for the guy. I'm afraid it will be very hard for him at first, but I'm hoping he will be able to hang in there and stick it out. At first, I thought MIL was being all negative about the move, what with being depressed that her second child was moving so far away, and all her panicking and worries about him being in a country so barbaric that it doesn't provide all those basic socialist government services, but she seems to have calmed down a lot. I can tell that she's sad, but I think she's also realized that it's a great opportunity, and even though it will be hard at first, moving abroad adds so much to your life experience and your character. She also is starting to understand that I desperately need a change, and that health-wise, I'm suffering a lot by being in France, and I think she's also realizing that America is not such a bad country. (MIL has been spending her days on Wikipedia, reading up about New York and its history, and also about celiac disease and gluten intolerance). I saw the in-laws before I left last week, and MIL was talking to me about the move - she had tears in her eyes, but I could tell she had calmed down and made her peace with us moving, so it was all very touching. She wants to plan an evening with us all together before I head out permanently in March, which is fine, as I have come up with an excellent plan to avoid the whole glutening problem - I cook my own food before I leave Paris and bring it to their house, where I heat everything up in the microwave. It cuts out a lot of stress and negative energy, and lets me relax about my fears of being glutened. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner!

So yeah, lots of changes heading my way in this year that I turn 30...least of which we will probably know who the Presidential candidates will be on the day of my birthday! Exciting, isn't it?