My thirty-fifth birthday has finally come after what has been a unique year, to say the least.  I am actually not one to really talk about my birthday so this is kind of a rare post as I am actually admitting to when it is.  Part of my reason for doing it this year is I feel like going forward it would be a good place to reflect on the year instead of marking my year on Jan 1st when most others would.  So without further ado…

This past year, I found myself traveling to Germany for the second time in my life and China for the first for work.  Traveling to me is something I enjoy but with a young family, all kids under the age of 6, it makes it harder to be away from home often.  On top of traveling internationally, my wife and I attended a wedding in Seattle without kids and spent a couple of days before touring around.  It was a great way to break up the normal flow of life with little kids.  I wish I could say we came back more refreshed than ever but with the wedding festivities and just touring around, we might have been more exhausted after our trip.

Being in a new job for most of the year and traveling more than prior years made the year seem really busy and go by fast.  Not to mention, in my free time over the summer months I was trying to build a deck, which in the end fast forward to this year, it has already paid for itself by the amount of time our kids have spent playing on it.

The year, of course, had ups and downs like anyone would expect.  It is a bummer how certain personal things played out throughout the year but honestly looking back now I think it was probably for the best.  True friends are still true friends even when you don’t see them.  Also, it can’t be always a one-way street because people have different lives sometimes, kids vs no kids, traveling job vs not traveling, owning a house in the suburbs vs living in a downtown apartment.  It bothered me for a long time as a friend of mine couldn’t understand the situation I was in but honestly, I probably didn’t always understand his (I will post more on this another time).  That probably consumed more of my energy/life over the past couple of years than I am willing to admit.

In January, I decided to make a commitment as I was approaching 35 that I needed to start living healthier but more specifically I wanted to start getting in shape to get into better habits and feel better all around.  With almost 3 months of these changes, I know personally and physically I am in a better place today than a year ago today.  I could probably expand that to the last 10 years.  In fact, I have lost weight, not that I am a heavy individual, but it was a weight that I probably should have never put on but has been holding constant for the last 5-6+ years.  I am hoping by continuing I will lose more and get back to the number I remembered but if not I am feeling really good about where I am today with the age I am today.

Looking forward, I really don’t know what’s around the corner for this year but I do know I currently like the direction I have ended my 34’s.  It will not be easy,  there never is a year that is but I am looking forward to the challenges it will bring.  I will continue to make tweaks to my routines, projects, and friendships.  In the end, I know I am very blessed with what I have today, a loving wife, 3 amazing kids, a job that keeps me busy (and pays the bills), and some fun projects that I get to work on and meet amazing people.