Is it really JUST a Number?

Ok, so 30.... is it really just a number? This question is getting closer and closer to the front of my mind as it looms just 9 short months away.... that's how long a healthy pregnancy takes (I should know, I've done that twice!) Seriously, by the time I could have another baby, I will be 30 - the big three-oh.... but is it really just a number, or is it three decades of my life? If so, what does it say about me? Who am I? Ok, I started as a daughter - still am, luckily, to the greatest parents a girl could ask for. I also filled the role as little sister from day one, then a few years down the road I became big sister - still am filling those roles, so I guess so far, so good. Friend... yep, still have a few of those where I fit the bill. Ok, so far - daughter...check, sister...check, friend...check. Another box I can fit myself into is that of teacher - high school Social Studies teacher to be specific. Next came the role of wife - gotta love that one! My poor Irish hubby, sometimes getting lost in the shuffle that I call my life, but still there for me no matter what. Then perhaps came my most important role - mother. I became a mother over three years ago, and was blessed with the role again nearly a year ago, and I think my daughters would give me the thumbs up on that one - at least on the days where I allow ice cream for breakfast ;-) Here's where the confusion sets in.... in three decades, shouldn't I have figured out just how all of these roles make me who I am? Well guess what... I really have no clue! For now, I'm blaming Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin - easy cop out, I know! I am such a supporter of Hillary Clinton - my girls and I went canvassing for her in the Spring, to rallies, etc - only to have to watch her gracefully accept defeat - with tears in my eyes I had to realize that MY role model had not succeeded all the way to the top - is it possible that I am not succeeding in fulfilling all of my roles in life? Enter Sarah Palin - YAY another woman who may possibly make history - sure, I don't really agree with what she stands for, but maybe, just maybe, a good role model to show my girls that that glass ceiling doesn't exist for them. And then it starts. "She should be home with her family." "Her children need her." "A woman can't give 100% to both her family and her career." That's the one that gets me the most. If that last quote is true, then who am I shortchanging by being a working mom? Are my girls lacking because I work? Are my students not getting the fulfilling education they deserve because I watch Max & Ruby at nighttime with Niamh and Eilis? This is what has prompted me to start my blog - a blog of my own self discovery, where hopefully I will show myself that a woman CAN do it all, and CAN be successful - and that woman will be ME - yikes! I have just 9 months until I hit the elusive 30 - and I hope by then I will have some more clarity on my roles and duties - or at least I'll have one helluva hangover to remember! Instead of making 30 a number, I want it to mean something to me - I want my 30th birthday to show me that women really have advanced since 100 years ago, and I hope that when my girls are facing their 30th birthdays they don't have the same confusion that I have now, keeping me awake this night before the first day of school! So read along with me, as I hope to take one life lesson a day to prove to myself, my girls, female doubters and others that women can give of themselves in more than one role in life, and no one has to suffer (well, ok, maybe my husband is suffering a bit, but he's a man - he's had his chance in the world handed to him on a silver platter, right?!)