I turned 32 yesterday. Although I am just in the infancy stage of this decade, I can say through my experience and by talking with my closest friends, that the "thirties" are a time of self-realization.
Somehow in your twenties, you make decisions based on what feels natural or what's logical, but all of a sudden in your thirties, you are aware of how you would approach making such decisions, why you make them and what got you there in the first place. It's kind of like an adult psychology class that doesn't seem to end. Sounds heavy, and parts of it are, but really it's just very interesting.
My twenties are gone. My thirties welcomed me with the first year of being a soccer mom. I felt like I had "arrived"... that somehow, what I had been dreaming of my entire childhood had come true. And I'll have to be honest, it has. It has come and I am in it.
Being a soccer mom isn't just about soccer. It's about watching your kids discover who they are, what they are good at, what they are weak in. It's encouraging them regardless of their size or their speed, hugging them when they feel inadequate or feeding into their very confident self-esteem.
It's about encouraging their friends, as these are kids that will grow to be adults with your children... another key role that we always need to be aware of and never take lightly.
In our special town, groups of families and kids connect over one sport. It's such a special time. Fields and fields of kids playing soccer on Saturday. Multiple games in one day if you have multiple children... which means multiple chances of running into multiple friends.
I love the buzz of it all.
I love that my kids are surrounded by (mostly) friendly competition, and a load of "family" to cheer them on. I love that somehow, in God's great plan, he landed me, in my 30's, in the most perfect place, with the most perfect spouse for me, and five unique children under my care.
It's fascinating and I am so grateful to be where I am at, at the age of 32.
(By the way, in case you couldn't tell, my friends and I have discovered that I am quite the eternal optimist).
Love the thirties. :-)