Milestone Birthday

So, I've been told that I'm reaching a milestone in my life this week. Do I feel any different? No. Am I grown up? Yeah, I guess so. My age tells me I am, but Jimmy Buffett tells me I'm growing older not up :). I mean I'm still a Toys R Us kid at heart, but I understand responsibility. So, I'm taking a little time to evaluate what I've learned in my first 30 years. I'm gonna try to break down one memory from each age. Obviously as I got older there were more and more memories. So I tried to keep it fun and general.

1. I thought why is my Mom smoking crack?....Not really I just don't have any 1 year old memories and for those that know my Mom she is not a crack smoker :) She is the nicest person I've ever met and my Dad is the wisest person I've ever met. I love them both.
2. My baby brother was born.
3. My baby sister was born. Ya think we're all close in age. :)
4. This is when I shoved a bunch of raisins up my nose. It was like a human Pez dispenser.
5. My grandfather made a video of me singing, "Oh my Darlin, Clementine" with the biggest country twang you have ever heard. He wants to watch it every time we're together, haha :).
6. I was the Spelling Bee champion.
7. I got to walk on the field of Atlanta Fulton County Stadium...I can still remember how green the grass was. It was my coliseum.
8. I told a girl we could get married by giving her my ring pop....but we got hungry later on that day, so we had to call it off. I told her, "Next time I get a quarter, we'll do it again"
9. I bought my first tape "La Bamba" and discovered the first songs I ever really liked..."Paradise City" by Guns N Roses and "If I could turn back time" by Cher. Now that's a mixed tape fo shizzle.
10. I rode my bike to school everyday. I lived in a small town.
11. I moved to Gwinnett County to begin my run living in Ashton Place, being in the Gwinnett County school sytems and attending Mountain West Church.
12. I learned about labor rates by paying my sister a quarter to clean the house for me before she learned the value of money...Now, I'm afraid to try it because I fear inflation has hit.
13. Substitute teachers are not fond of you saying that your name is Ivana Tinkle when she asks for your name in front of the class. If no one would've laughed, I would've gotten away with it. I look Russian...wow, my inspiration The Simpsons has been on that long.
14. Do not turn the gas on in the fireplace...walk away to find matches...come back 5 minutes later and light a fire...it singes your hair, eyebrows and your face becomes flushed because of the giant cloud of fire that just went through you.
15. I got my learners license and scared my Dad by asking if it was a two lane road? He was looking down and said, "Yes." I pulled into the left lane at the red light and wondered aloud, "Why is there a car directly across the road from us with their headlights flashing?" His response as he looked up, "Paul, you're in the wrong lane!" Everyone knows "two lane" means I was asking if it was a one way street...unbelievable Pops :)
16. I learned the answer to every Sunday School question is simply to respond, "Pray and read the bible"
17. My favorite hairstyle of all time was when it was in small braids standing straight out...Coolio style
18. I attended 7 homecoming dances and 2 proms in one year...I can still hear "Come on ride that train...and ride it...whoop, whoop"
19. As treasurer of my college fraternity, I hosted many unofficial parties
20. I think lizards like swimming in an aquarium full of puke. It kind of looks swampy, like their native homeland. What they do not like is a lightbulb that is the wrong wattage. The sun was high in the sky that day my friend....RIP Cletus
21. I finished 86 hours in a year and a half to graduate on time at Georgia Tech. My greatest accomplishment. I basically spent the first two and half years socializing in Tennessee.
22. If you lose your wedding ring on your honeymoon it's a sign :).
23. My most awkward conversation starter of all time on a cruise with another couple eating dinner for the first time. Me-"Where are you from?" Them-"Memphis" Me-"Ah, central time zone. We're from Atlanta. Eastern time, an hour ahead of you guys." Let the crickets begin to chirp right about now....
24. I saw the power of prayer when 4 people were looking for wedding rings in a dark gravel parking lot.
25. Words cannot express the thanks I have for meeting the Mesh family. They are all my second family. If you know them, you know their greatness.
26. I learned if a girl goes for the line, "I'm a boxer and my name is Nitro"...not a keeper
27. Only in Detroit, can you run down the street with your shirt off in cold weather and the cop high fives you because the Tigers went to the world series for the first time in 25 years
28. I am eternally grateful to Ryan Burns for personally destroying the most hideous Christmas decoration of all time...a giant inflatable snow globe in my front yard...with a belly flop right in the middle....he came face to face with the devil that night
29. Just because an elderly black woman gives you her hat doesn't mean you should wear it the entire night, especially when you look like Blossom...or a shirt with a D that looks like it was put on by a bedazzler

Good decisions, bad decisions. This is where I'm supposed to be, because this is where I am. I love my family and friends. Thank you all. I'm thankful for all the people I've been able to spend time with. The relationships I've had have definitely been interesting, but they all had good parts. I choose to remember that. Thank you for the greatest thirty years in the world. I look forward to the rest. Much love. Paul.