34 and more

Today I turned 34 years old. As I get older, I get more ambivalent about my birthday. My birthday is no longer a really big deal. Birthdays are not as much fun in your thirties as they are when you're ten. I'm not celebrating today with all my friends at the skating rink and eating an ice cream cake. Not that birthdays aren't to be celebrated at this age, but they should be celebrated with more...restraint.

Typically, 34 is not a milestone age. Nothing special happens, no new opportunities arise, when you turn 34. But for me, it will be the most important age of my life. It will forever be the age when I gave birth to my first child. Thirty-four will always reside along with 18, 21, 30 and those other milestone birthdays.

For the last few birthdays, I have not been really excited about getting older. I'm not one of those people who gets depressed about turning another year older, but I haven't been jumping for joy either. But today, I was excited and proud to turn 34 years old, because I know it will be my best year yet.

I wanted to be sure and get a few photos on my birthday this year, to document the bump. These were taken at The Domain, a shopping and residential establishment near our house. Note how my dress, which is not a maternity dress, is much shorter in the front due to my ever-expanding stomach. Hilarious.