Brain feels younger, body feels older.

I've been 30 for almost a month now. I purposely didn't want to talk about it, so don't feel weird if you didn't know. I think 24 was my last "excited" birthday.

It's one of those birthdays that I casually call an "Assessment Birthday." You know what I mean, it's officially an age where I can no longer make excuses about being a dumb teenager, or an inexperienced twenty-something. Officially adult. (The government says 18, but I think that was a typo.) One of those milestone ages where you must decide if you are where you thought you'd be when you were growing up.

So I've been thinking about it, and I've got a few things checked off my list:

Graduated college. (Phew!)

Married. (For a lot longer that I thought I would be. I was picturing 26.)

Kids. (Double what I thought I'd have when I was a teen. When we first got married, however, I said I wanted five kids and be done by 30. Idiot.)

House. (That one is tricky, because we don't have a house now, but we have had several houses.)

Gospel. (Still important to me. And I'm seeing the little seeds of faith grow in my children. Warms my heart.)

Bonus: I still have my driver's license!

And there's a few places where I've found myself falling short:

Travel. Since I've been married, Tony and I have taken ONE vacation. I am not counting road trips to Washington, which we did for our honeymoon and usually a couple of times a year.

I thought we'd see the world together. I think we should work on that.

Career. I used to have a decent head on my shoulders, but my kids are too important to me to leave in the care of someone else. Plus, I really like heels! And pencil skirts! Maybe someday...

House. (What! A repeat?) I thought we'd be done with moving by now. Settled and steady. Not the case.

Master's degree. Have not even started. I'm too scared to take the test because, as referred above, I am now an idiot.

Even with the above list, I feel like I am in a good place. I feel exhausted but decently happy in bed at night, and I find so much joy in my role as wife and mother. Even as maid and cook. (I do sometimes feel like I could be switched out with Rosie from the Jetsons and things could carry on just fine.) I like to think most days, though, I add a little something extra.