The hubby turned 30 today, and he's kind of been freaking out about this milestone birthday for some time. The other day he said something along the lines of, "Well, I may as well just die now because I'll be 30 soon and my life will be over then anyway." (He was kidding, of course, but I'm pretty sure there was a kernel of truth to him feeling that a certain aspect of his life would be over once he turned 30.)
In honor of this momentous occasion, here are some major accomplishments people have made after the age of 30:
- "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is published just shy of J.K. Rowling's 32nd birthday.
- As chronicled in the movie "The Rookie," 35-year-old Jim Morris makes his Major League Baseball debut pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
- At the age of 37, Julia Child begins her culinary career by enrolling in the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.
- Also at the age of 37, Tom Hanks wins his first Oscar for his role as Andrew Beckett in the movie "Philadelphia."
- John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man to be elected into the office of President of the United States of America at the age of 43 years and 236 days.
- At the age of 52, Ray Kroc, with the support of Maurice and Richard McDonald, franchises the hamburger restaurant McDonald's.
- In an act of civil disobedience, 61-year-old Mahatma Gandhi leads the approximately 200-mile long Salt March.
- At the age of 73, Charlie Chaplin becomes a first-time father when his son Christopher is born.
- The first of edition of "Roget's Thesaurus" is published when Peter Mark Roget is 73 years old.
- Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) Moses begins her career as a painter at the age of 76 years old.
As for my thoughts on age, I maintain the argument that you're only as old as you feel and that each birthday is a time to celebrate that you're still here, alive and kicking. I, for one, can only wish that my younger sister (who died when she was 16) got to see 30. Imagine all the things she would have gotten to do with an extra 14 years. That's why, although I don't relish the idea of getting older, I try to embrace it as an opportunity. Not everyone gets the opportunity to grow old, so I am honored each time I reach another birthday and try not to let it bother me as I continue to grow old(er).
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