5 Lessons I Learned on my 30th Birthday

I turned 30 this past Saturday, and I'm not going to lie, nothing went the way I had envisioned it.

To be fair, my husband and I had spent the last week and half battling some god awful flu. The children never got sick to the degree that we had gotten, but they had fevers and were restless. Luis and I were run down, our house was a mess, and we were still weak and light headed all weekend. 

When I woke up much too early on Saturday morning and was faced with a husband who also didn't want to be awake, I kind of knew that this was only the beginning of a long day that wasn't going to go how I wanted it to. 

But I feel like maybe all of the unlikely events that happened that day occurred to remind me of some very important life lessons. 

As a mom with small children, I am pretty sure that I'm chronically sleep deprived. I'm woken up several times throughout the night, I'm up early and I go to bed late. This is bad, bad, bad.

I can't completely blame the kids though, and I know it. There is usually a window of time between them going to bed and when I go to bed. It's my "me-time". To catch up, to eat, shower, hang out with my husband, or do absolutely nothing at all. 

And I always abuse that time. I stay up too late. And when I finally get into bed, I stare into the bright screen of my phone or tablet, squeezing out just a few more moments of mindless scrolling.

But sleep is soooo important! Besides affecting our moods and mental capabilities, lack of sleep affects our immune systems, hormones, stress levels, breathing...the list just goes on and on!

I think I'm seriously giving myself a 10PM bedtime. I know I won't make it every night, but if I could get into bed by 10 at least half the week, I know I'd feel so much better.

It's hard for me when the day doesn't go as I planned. When situations and people disappoint me, it is far better if I can take a moment to breathe, change my attitude, and keep moving forward.

I don't enjoy losing my shit. Losing control of my temper and yelling. It's unattractive, unimpressive, embarrassing, immature, and selfish. Especially to my kids.

Letting little nuisances get to me is a waste of my energy. When I'm walking around huffing and puffing, I'm wasting precious time here on this earth. There are far better things I could be doing than getting agitated over things that don't matter in the long run.

Like hugging my babies, enjoying good food, breathing fresh air, watching airplanes with Piggie, talking to my mom on the phone, playing peekaboo with Dacky, listening to music, etc. There's always something better to do than waste time being mad.

Clutter around me clutters my minds and stresses me out. Children are also stressed by clutter even if they don't say it. It's hard to play or work when surrounded by stuff.

And I'm not just talking about the everyday, regular clutter. I'm also referring to what we have in our closets and cabinets. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not haunting you! 

Something I read recently said that it's best to get rid of the things that we haven't used in the past year, rather than hang onto it "just in case" you might need it one day, and that it's easier to let go of it when we trust that it will be provided for us again if we ever need it in the future. 

That has helped me so much to just give away the things that I haven't used in years! You guys should see my hall closet - you're no longer in danger of being crushed in an avalanche when you open it. I swear I can breathe easier after a purging session.

The faster I can forgive and forget, the happier I will be. I've learned that the longer I fume over something, the bigger the situation gets.

Blaming others is addicting. But it is also pointless. Take responsibility for your actions, let go of the past, and move on. It's very freeing.

I am a much happier person when I drop things and let them go. There's no point in holding onto a hot coal, everything and everyone will tell you it only burns you, and it's true.

The main lesson I was reminded of on my 30th birthday, is that I am the one who is responsible for my attitude and happiness.

That about wraps up everything I've had on my mind this past weekend! Even though I felt as if nothing went the way I wished it would have, I feel it must've happened this way to remind me of things I need to focus on going into my thirties. Things won't always go how I want, but I'm a big girl now and I'm not going to let that stop the awesomeness that is life from coming to me! Here's to my 30th year!