Birthday Thoughts -30s

My birthdays seemed to get less exciting after I turned 25.  So when celebrating my birthday recently, instead of thinking about being "another year older,"  I focused on how blessed I was to live to see my 30s since not everyone gets that honor and being thankful that I had people that genuinely care about me, to celebrate with.   Just in time, a friend posted an article from Glamour Magazine's website on Olivia Wilde's Dos and Don't of Turning 30.  I found it pretty fitting!

http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/2013/08/olivia-wilde-s-advice-for-turning-30

I enjoyed her article and think she had some good tips.  One of my favorites was  the "Don't cut your face."  It seems like you can't turn on the radio without a commercial about a plastic surgery clinic coming on telling me about end of summer deals on tummy tucks, breast augmentations, and face lifts.  They all mention their great "payment plans" too.  It's almost a fad now. I understand that there are people who need reconstructive surgery because of accident, illness, or various other reasons  or the lady with back problems that needs a breast reduction, but I would guess that the majority of people getting these procedures, do it for purely aesthetic reasons.  I guess it I just find it un-necessary.  Most people are proportional and uniquely pretty.  A size 2 woman is probably not going to have 38D's naturally, but she's more than likely proportional and looks great the way she is. 

My other favorite thing she mentioned was "Don't feel pressured to pop out kids."  This one hit home. I love kids!  I don't do well with babies mainly because they look fragile and I'm afraid of them getting hurt,  but well-behaved toddlers and older....love!  They're cute and fun, and most by that age can communicate fairly well...so I don't mind spending time with them at all. I love my niece and nephews to the moon and back.  I just don't have any of my own and have no desire to pop any out right now.  I've had people at the grocery store check out line or friends with kids give all kinds of strange responses after they ask how many kids I want to have or when I'm "planning on popping out some kids." I've received gasps and looks of disbelief.  A lady once told me "oh, you'll change your mind soon,"  while another said "your eggs will start going bad soon sweetie, you should have them sooner rather than later." Did I miss the part where it said having them was a requirement?  A friend once asked "who is going to take care of you when you get old if you don't have any kids?"  Ironically she put her mom in a nursing home after her father's death a few years ago. With 7 billion people on the planet, I'm pretty sure the survival of our species is not dependent on my having kids, so I wish some people would stop reacting as such. 

As a recently married woman, I was single for most of my 20s, and I can tell you that most women in their late twenties or early thirties that are single, have enough people pressuring them about finding Mr. Right, getting married, settling down, having a family,  and whatever else they consider a necessary step to being their idea of a "happy woman."  ....That's aside from the usual pressures to be a more responsible person, have things figured out, stay fit or recover her high school figure, and be on the way to a successful career by the time you reach 30.  I guess my questions would be: What happend to people following different paths through life?  Why are people so concerned about the life other people choose to live, and not understanding when it doesn't match their own?  and my big one would be,  Do men feel these same pressure put on them?