30 |

I wanted my 30th birthday to be a day without regrets, but one of the things I have long realized about being an adult is that it’s the little things that make the real difference. I still remember the day in my 18th year when I bought a trash can for my bedroom. It REVOLUTIONIZED life! No longer did I have to walk around the corner to the bathroom to throw away every gum wrapper and term paper draft. What’s more, I realized with stark clarity that I had my own car and my own money, thus it was totally within my power to make these small changes whenever I wanted. I was an adult.

I tend to agonize over small decisions, especially when money is involved, so I frequently ask myself if what I’m debating is the equivalent of the trashcan – is it a little thing that will make life a little better every single day? Is it a small investment for satisfaction?

With that in mind, these are the things I set out to do on my 30th birthday, and the fact that I followed through on every one of them was the perfect gift to myself:

Get up a little early. Really do it, don’t just say you will and then lie there for half an hour.
Take Ellie to Prospect Park during off-lead dog hours and watch her make that happy, bouncy face when you unclip her in the Long Meadow.
Buy a carrot muffin from the farmers’ market and eat it for breakfast.
Straighten up the house.
This is actually something I do almost every day before I sit down to work. I like my space to be tidy so I don’t have to think about it.
Work. Consentrate. Get things done, lots of things. Don’t leave things on the table that will follow you at dinner.
Order sushi for lunch.
Tip the sushi delivery guy well so you don’t have to worry later about hurting his feelings and being a jerk.
Bask in the well wishes.
Go out to dinner. Do whatever sounds best – it doesn’t have to be new or fancy.
I failed this one a little because Jeff and I both worked until after 7, Jeff wasn’t feeling well, and it rained buckets most of the afternoon, so I had a hard time deciding what was going to be easy. Nothing sounded easy. In the end we went to Back 40 West in Manhattan, which I didn’t realize we had actually been to before until I walked up to the door. But it was perfect.
Order whatever you damn well please, keeping in mind that entrees are seldom your favorite things on a menu.
I almost failed this one, too, because right after I placed my order for chilled sweet corn soup and warm kale salad, Jeff said, “Why didn’t you get the trout?! I thought you said the trout sounded good?” I had a decision crisis! But I did the right thing. The soup and salad were killer.
Have just the right amount of wine.
Two desserts would be a good idea. Chocolate pudding with a s’more-like topping and lemon chess pie with macerated strawberries.
Don’t make it a late night.
Floss.