30

I remember turning ten.

Vaguely.

We had an ice skating party at the Culver City Rink (z"l). It was special. I was hitting double digits! What a thrill! At the party my mom recorded Uncle Peter congratulating me on turning ten: I can't believe you're ten years old ... it's only three more years 'til your Bat Mitzvah and it's like, blowing my mind! 

(You better believe that played on the montage video at my Bat Mitzvah)

I remember turning twenty.

I was living in the sorority house at UC Davis. My boyfriend at the time arranged a huge day for me. The whole time I kept thinking, holy mackarel, I'm twenty. TWENTY!? How did I get this old?

Today I'm thirty.

30.

Three decades. Unbelievable.

What a fantastic ride the past decade has been.

Ten years ago I was nervous about the transition from teenager to adult. Ten years ago I was so ambivalent about stepping further and further away from my youth; my childhood. Who was I going to become? What was I going to become? I had some degree of clarity about my career path and knew I wanted to become a member of the clergy. But I had no idea what the next decade of my life would look like.

Now, here we are. Thirty. I'll be an ordained rabbi in about four months. I just completed my first round of interviews for my first job out of rabbinical school. I'm married to the most patient, loving, delicious, and supportive human being alive. My amazing parents are healthy. My brother is soaring. My grandfather is still kickin'. My big, vibrant, newly expanded family is family. My friends keep my heart beating strong. I am doing something that I love so deeply.

Seriously, who could ask for anything more?

I know that this next decade of my life will bring extraordinary triumphs and unimaginable challenges. I know that I have so much ahead - so much to learn, so many new and exciting people to learn from, so many relationships to form and mentors to seek and horizons to explore. So many ways to grow into the person I'm continuing to learn how to be.

I cannot wait.

So 30, it's nice to see you. I'm so glad you're here.

Jaclyn