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And so today I begin the last year of my 30’s! And I’m happy to say that finally the leaves are starting to change and it got cool enough to pull out a sweater. So I would say this day is off to a pretty good start!

It’s been a little surreal for me today as I’ve looked back on all that has happened in the last decade of my life. These last few years have been marked by a series of some major life changes for me, some that make me want to leap with joy and others that have left me crying on my bathroom floor. So after all of that, I’m feeling quite content with my age and in all the ways I’ve grown and stretched past what I was as I become who I am yet to be. What a difference from how I felt about turning 30! I remember that turning 30 seemed very difficult as I struggled to reconcile where I thought I should be at that point and where I was. But now I feel a sense of accomplishment at everything that has happened and I’m happily looking forward to 40 and to all the new adventures that are waiting for me in that decade.

Two years ago I spent my birthday interviewing for a job that was perfect for me. We were living in Florida and were beginning to look towards our move to Tennessee. We had driven up one weekend to get a feel for the area and we drove around the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. I have worked in a university setting for the last 8 years and so naturally I wanted to check out this university to see if it was somewhere that I could work. The campus gave me all the good vibes so when we returned to Florida I started applying to different jobs around campus. Then a job in the international admission office opened up and I was thrilled because that was where I had been working in Utah and loved it. So I applied and soon thereafter was called asking for an interview. They flew me up to Tennessee, put me up in a hotel for a night, and took me out to lunch following my interview. I felt that the interview had gone really well and I was excited at the prospect because I thought this was the perfect job for me. Then the blow came- I didn’t get the job and I was devastated.

I kept applying to different jobs at the university and finally was offered a position. We moved to Tennessee in the summer of 2020 and we’ve been going along since then. Well that same job that I interviewed for has opened up again and I have submitted my application. The thing is, I don’t think they hired someone else for the job two years ago or if they did then they were not there for very long. So I’m anxiously awaiting to see if I’ll get an interview again and trying to be cautiously optimistic about the possibility of getting a job that I would do so well at. So if you would care to cross your fingers or send some good vibes my way I would greatly appreciate it 🙂

In other news, we are excitedly counting down the days until the end of November when we’ll be venturing across the Atlantic to enjoy the holiday delights of Germany! We will be spending a glorious week in Munich and the surrounding areas seeing the Christmas markets and taking in all the mountain views that we can. This is something of a belated honeymoon/family celebration for us which makes it all the more wonderful. Someone asked me if we were planning to go visit Dachau while we’re there and when I said no he got a little huffy and indignant and told me I should be ashamed of myself to not make that part of the trip. While I think visiting those places is an important part of remembering and honoring the victims of such horror, I’m also not sure I’m ready to take Tessa there where she is at such a young and tender age. So that will have to wait until a later visit to Munich as we finalize our plans for our trip. So excited to see all that Germany has in store for us!

After Germany our next trip will come in December as we are going back to Utah to ring in the new year with my family. We’re hoping to go down and visit one of the national parks because they are so stunning in the winter. But mostly we are looking forward to spending days at home with the family and friends we haven’t seen in awhile.

So with that, I’m sliding into 39 and looking forward to all that this year will be. The good, the bad, the unexpected-I’m here for it and ready to live it. Thanks for joining me today and everyday. I love this little corner of the internet and the community of people who share it with me.