3 Years to 30: My Milestone Birthday Bucket List

Ah, birthdays…now such a bittersweet day. As kids, you looked forward to the all the milestones: hitting double digits, becoming a teenager, getting your driver’s license, getting into R-rated movies, becoming an ADULT, drinking. Then it seems like everyone switches gears and suddenly hates their birthdays and the milestones that remain.

Me, personally? September 1 marked my 27th birthday, and all of a sudden I can see 30 creeping up on the horizon. And I CANNOT WAIT. I get called crazy anytime I say this. “Why on earth would you want to be 30?” they ask. Well, maybe it’s because I’ve always felt older than my actual age. Maybe it’s because I would much rather spend the evening at home with my family or with a cup of coffee and a good book instead of being out partying like a twenty-something. Maybe it’s because the Jennifer Garner movie, 13 Going On 30, came out the year I turned 13 and I’ve been patiently waiting for my turn to be 30, flirty, and thriving.

I can’t really explain why I want to be 30. But, when it comes down to it, I don’t quite feel ready for it yet. I want to enter this next milestone being better than I currently am. I want the Thirties Me to be my best version yet. So, over the next three years, I’m going to chip away at my version of a milestone birthday bucket list.

My 3 Years to 30 Bucket List

Travel more – Before coming to Texas, I spent 24 years in the same place. My honeymoon was in Hawaii and that’s the only traveling I can really say I’ve done. I want to visit Disney! I want to get a stamp in my passport! Heck, I want to GET a passport!

Try new foods – I have so many cookbooks getting dusty on the shelf and recipes saved on Pinterest that I’ve never attempted. I’m also that person that goes to a new restaurant and immediately looks for chicken strips. I want to get out of my comfort zone and try some new things!

Attend more events – Concerts, sporting events, plays, all of it!

Take up a new hobby – Maybe learn how to knit or crochet. Maybe finally figure out how to use my sewing machine sitting in the closet. Maybe take a cake decorating class. Something to expand my craft knowledge and give me more reasons to frequent Hobby Lobby.

Learn to pamper myself – Confession time. I’ve never spent more than $20 on a haircut and the few times I dyed my hair it came from a box. Especially after having kids, it is hard for me to imagine spending money on myself. I need to learn that it is okay occasionally!

Take better care of myself – I want to read more, run more, drink more water, start a bullet journal. All those simple, simple things that somehow get swept away in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Be more present with my family – Thinking about three years from now, it seems so far away. But it’s really not. My oldest is turning three in just a couple months. It goes by like a blur. I want to make sure I actually see these precious moments of our family and not just through the camera of a smart phone.

I am looking forward to my thirties, but I am also looking forward to these next three years of improving myself and enjoying life with my husband and our boys. Do you have a milestone birthday bucket list? What’s on it?