As I sit here and write, I am seventeen (and a half) days away from looking at my twenties in the rear view mirror.  Seventeen (and a half) days from being 30.

And you know what?  I feel none of this dread I hear women talking about. 

Why do women fear getting older anyway?  I am actually looking forward to turning 30!

New challenges to face.  New places to go.  Old friends and new friends.  Experiences I can't imagine.  Adventures I won't see coming.  New lines appearing on my face as evidence of all of my laughter, tears...life being lived.  And a love that will take me to new places I didn't know existed.

My twenties have not been lacking in any of these categories, they have been full of their own surprises and twists and turns. 

But the thirties will be different than the twenties...that I am sure of.

As I look back over the past 10 years, I realize that most of the time I felt like I was stuck somewhere between a girl and a woman.  Isn't that a Britney song, I'm not a girl, not yet a woman?  Well, that's how I felt...sandwiched somewhere right in the middle. 

Over the past two years, I have felt my transformation into full on woman begin. 

The struggles that I once faced of a girl figuring out her place in the real world are for the most part gone.  The assurance of others is no longer needed,  I don't have to care what other people think about what makes ME happy,  I don't have to lose weight to think I'm beautiful, and love really is what matters in this life full of uncertainty and craziness. 

It's all still a work in progress, I'm still a work in progress.  Aren't we all?  But I think I'm on the right track.

And with that said bring on the big 3-0...the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

This woman is ready and waiting...I going to make 30 my best year yet. 

I think you should do the same, whatever age you may be turning. 

So to all of my lovelies out there, here's to getting older and becoming the person YOU really want to be!