Thirty and a half

Ok, it's time I finally talk about something that happened to me this year. Most of you have been kind enough not to mention much about it or ask how it went, but I am sure it is on more than a few people's minds. On April 1, 2006, I turned 30. That's a really big three and a really big zero after.

I realize turning 30 happens to a lot of people everyday and honestly it's not the number itself that bothers me so much. In fact, it's a pretty cool age. You have done a lot of dumb stuff already, gotten it out of the way and learned from it. You are more comfortable with who you are and make less apologies for it. You have been humbled more times than you'd like to admit and you can relate to people better. It's actually a good age.

But what isn't so great about being 30 is being 30 and single. There I said it. It's out in the open. I'm 30. And I'm single.

So, this is what I'm going to talk about for just a minute or two or forty nine. :) Oh, where to start... well, first of all, being 30 and single really crept up on me. When Jeni and I lived together last year, we had decided (on some days) that maybe we never wanted to get married so we could hang out all the time! Well, we have always wanted to get married, but we valued our singleness because we knew we were getting a rare chance to spend so much time together. Because of that, being single wasn't such an outstanding issue in my life. Until... that little rat decided to move to Hungary. (Yeah, Jeni, I called you a rat but only because you left. If you come back, I'll call you something much, much nicer).

Of course, living alone again brings the issue screaming up in my face. Add to that loneliness and it's a recipe for disaster I tell you. But, I have found that God is teaching me patience... perseverance, trust and faith. I really do have a peace that God is going to bring the right guy into my life at just the right moment. And a tremendous excitement about it too. The Bible talks about difficult times refining us, and I can say this time in my life has brought so much growth. I'm even going to go out on a limb here and say I'm glad for this time in my life. I have had time to sit with Jesus and it is amazing.

But I did hear a pretty hilarious thing on the radio the other day. They were talking about "bio-panic". I guess it's when... ahem... older women... such as... ahem... myself... start to panic about getting too old to have kids. They actually gave a name to this condition! Apparently talking about your biological clock has gone out of style. But bio-panic is sweeping across the nation at rampant rates because women are waiting so long to get married. I wanted to call in and share my sentiments... I don't think I necessarily have a case of BIO-panic. I think mine could be called MAN-o-panic... just can't seem to find a good one! :)

So, yes, I am thirty and extremely single. (And living in a land of very tiny men but that's a different subject all together). Just thought I'd throw that out there because pretty soon I won't be thirty and single anymore... because I'm turning 31 in a couple of months :).