I woke up this morning and realized my mouth was dry. That isn’t unusual as I sometimes have a habit of sleeping with my mouth open at night. But this dry was like the desert on a very hot day. When I reached the bathroom I was astounded to find my bottom lip looked like I’d joined Paris Hilton in a lip collagen party.

The reason my mouth was dry is because my bottom lip was so swollen and heavy I couldn’t keep my mouth closed! My son’s first reaction was to tell me I looked like a fish. Nice.

Our 4th of July was nothing out of the ordinary. My husband’s birthday is on the 4th and we celebrated very low key at home, which was nice. We spent 2 days at a local lake with some good friends boating, swimming and fishing. I have not eaten anything different or taken any new medication that would cause an allergic reaction such as this.

It’s been twelve hours and 5 Benadryl later and there is no improvement. I skipped work today thinking I’d rest and hang out and by tomorrow it would all be better. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow and must go to the office, so let’s pray that when I wake up in the morning my lip is back to looking normal. Otherwise I’ll have to come up with some really crazy story about how I got bit by a blow fish, because according to Dr. Google that might very well be a possible cause.

What happens when you try to juggle more than you should? In my case you receive a card in the mail. Not just any card though, this was a card that I bought, signed, addressed to myself and mailed.

As I looked through our mail I even thought to myself that this handwriting looks familiar.

Imagine my surprise to find that I’d cared enough to send the very best to myself. The worst part is I’m not even sure who the birthday card was intended for. Now I need to figure out who didn’t get a card and send them a belated wishes.

Today we did a lot of outside work at our new house. Since the weather was nice, most of the families on our street were doing the same things in their own yards. It was the first opportunity we’ve had to meet a lot of our new neighbors.

First impressions mean everything. To my own defense it was my first time on a riding lawnmower. Picture me mowing in our front yard, waving at the next door neighbor and then immediately running into a tree.

If anything they got a first impression of the true me.

As my 30th birthday approaches tomorrow I have been asked the same questions over and over again.

“Do you feel any different?”

“Is it depressing turning 30?”

The one question anyone has yet to ask is -

“Is this where you thought you’d be at 30?”

The answer is no.

I have always lived by short-term goals. Forget planning so far ahead. I just need to have an outline on how my life should go over the next few years. Life is so much easier to picture when you aren’t focusing on the distant future. Everything looks manageable and glamorous in the present.

In high school the goal was to finish high school and go away to college. Check.

Once in college the goal was to finish college (ok, there was an extra year in there I didn’t plan for) and then find a job. Check.

The next goal was to marry, buy a house and start a family. Check.

Everything fell into place just as I had planned.

My husband turned 30 about a month ago. Our goals by this age were to buy a larger house, be more secure financially and most importantly have another child. This is how we expected our lives to go.

Life interrupted us a few years ago and rearranged things just a bit. Three years ago my husband was praying that I live to see my 30th birthday. All of a sudden a larger house didn’t seem to be the short-term goal.

In all honesty the first year after the car accident I didn’t think I’d see 30 either. My whole world was crumbling. In the midst of my own pain I watched the sudden short-term goals of my cousin fall apart as well.

The world was starting to seem like a cruel, evil storm that wouldn’t end. So why keep fighting?

Because for a reason I will never completely understand I am here to blow out candles on my 30th birthday. Goals change. Things happen.

I’m not planning short or long-term goals anymore. Instead I strive to do the best with what I’ve got, each day I’m given.