Yesterday was my 31st birthday. As you can see above, my kids decided a great present for me would be to get a new kitten. I’m not sure if the gift was for me or for them, but so far “Jonesy” the kitten has been a fun addition around the house.
Having a birthday around Thanksgiving is both good and bad. It’s bad because Thanksgiving isn’t my favorite holiday because I don’t really like the standard Thanksgiving food, I don’t like eating dinner early in the afternoon, and having Thanksgiving leftovers isn’t a bonus for me since I didn’t like the food in the first place. However, it’s good because there’s usually family and friends in town, it’s a holiday weekend so people have time off from work and school, there’s lots of sports to watch live or on TV, and it’s a good time to reflect on things in which we are thankful.
I must say as I’ve hit 31 I’m extremely thankful for so many things in my life. I’ve reached most of the goals I sort of mentally set for myself in my early 20s both personally, professionally, and financially. My family is just amazing, as every day feels like a gift when I’m with them. I have a great set of friends who constantly make me laugh, and a job that is challenging but also rewarding. I also am just glad to have made it this far on this round rock of life, and am happy to be working in the web industry which I truly believe is changing the world for the better.
So while most people wait for the New Year’s resolutions, I like to set some goals at my birthday since it’s close enough anyway. Here goes for the 31st year of my life:
- Be a supportive husband and father as my wife is due to have our third child in February. That means a good portion of my year will be carrying around a newborn, which is an amazing experience.
- Teach my girls more. It’s hard to realize how fast they’re growing up, and I think they’re ready to try more things and learn more than I sometimes realize. I’ve erred on the side of caution in being pushy and letting them choose the things they’re interested in pursuing.
- Eat healthier. I’ve made strides here, but can continue to get better. Damn that Dr. Pepper addiction.
- Continue to excel professionally. There are constantly new challenges, skills to learn, smart people to learn from, and learning how to be a better manager and coworker.
- Give more time and money to worthy causes. I’ve been doing more of this as I grow older, but I want to do more as I’ve realized giving time, money, and support to the right causes can be a rewarding experience. I’d especially like to give more time, but that seems to be the hardest thing to come by these days.
- Learn to play the guitar. I’ve dabbled on and off in short bursts over the years, but have never truly dedicated myself to “learning” how to play well.
That seems like it’s enough for now. That’s a lot to accomplish, and some of those are hard to measure, but those are the focuses for now. It seems like most bloggers would set some blogging related goal, but I’ve learned to relax about blogging. At one point I felt a lot of internal pressure to constantly post, but now I’ve realized it suits me best to blog on my own time when I have something to say. Maybe I should set a goal to have more to say in the next year? Sure, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of my other goals!
I’ll be at