So, another year, another birthday. 2010 has been quite the blur. When it started we weren’t pregnant yet, my mother-in-law was still doing somewhat ok, I was making significantly less money at work, I hadn’t taken a vacation in 5 years (a trip somewhere fun, not family visits) and none of our friends had babies yet. 12 months later and everything’s changed. We’re having a baby, 4 friends had babies, we took an awesome trip to Savannah, I got a raise and a promotion at work, I finished a huge project and launched a huge corporate website, and I’ve done a ton of side-jobs and saved enough for my own camera gear (7D here I come). A lot has changed.

I have to admit though, 30 doesn’t really feel like 30. Then again, the last 5 years or so didn’t really feel like themselves either. I still feel like I’m 22, in college, wondering what Nagle and Jason are doing this weekend and if we can get in a game of ultimate frisbee. Or I feel like I’m 18, and I should be driving around NH with the guys in the car, blasting techno from the stereo and wondering when the next LAN party is.

I do have to say that out of all three decades, this one has been my favorite so far. It includes all of my married life, college experiences, moving to Texas and getting settled and into great job. I have great friends, great family, lots of adventures. I really have enjoyed myself, as my waist line can attest to.

So, instead of looking back on my year and lamenting about how I’m another year older, I can honestly say that this time I’m looking forward and I’m excited about where I’m heading. I’m also glad that I’ve kept this website up. I know it’s updates are infrequent when benchmarked against my daily, near hourly updates from college, but I think the substance of the message has improved greatly over the years. I like the ability to write and express what I’m thinking and to share that with other. Whether anyone else appreciates the candor with which I do it is a subject of constant debate, but it’s continued existence is none-the-less a testimony to my belief that they do.

With that I’d like to thank you. All of you. I thank you for your years of putting up with me, humoring me, laughing with me, at me, or about me, and for always being there when I need you. Without you, well, I’d just be talking to myself.

I can’t believe 30 years has already gone by. It seems like a blur. It’s hard to believe that at least 1/3 of my life has already been lived. It’s also hard to fathom that the next 1/3 will be all about raising someone else. It seems like I just started to figure out what this world was all about, and now I get to pass that on to my little one. It’s scary, exciting, confusing and awesome, all at the same time.

Thanks guys. Thanks for everything. It’s been a great 30 years, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of it turns out.

Happy Birthday to me!

Matt out.