Further reminder to be patient with oneself

Dear X,
I was just thinking that a great thing about being thirty-something is seeing myself, literally, as a grownup. As in, I look in the mirror (or, oftentimes, a photo) and I swear I see my mom. I love that I see the resemblance more and more.

It reminds me of how you said to me once that you don't mind finding the occasional gray strand because you associate those stray hairs not with growing old but with an air of grace and dignity. Like mother, like daughter...

Dear O,

What would I do without you? Thank you for sharing this...You're right: turning 30 brings me further into an unfolding into that which I most admire.

I love you and am so blessed by your friendship.
Love, X

Crossing over to the dark side (well, it's sort of a light violet gray)

Dr. Really Cool Dude (former Medical Director of my soon-to-be-ex clinic) said I'd be entering a "different world" and I'm looking forward to the move to Downtown Hospital in a couple weeks. Of course, it didn't help that while Dee and I were out with some of her ED buddies last Saturday, one gal called it a "zoo" over there and another one piped up about stories she'd heard. Hey girls, try not to overwhelm me with a pep talk; it's too late for me to un-quit my current day job.

Like I said before, I'm excited. It's a terrific pre-nursing opportunity: inpatients and RN's galore. Plus I already have a healthy respect (pun intended) for the mental health field, so Psych should be a perfect fit. Wish me luck, folks!

"I never promised you a rose garden. I never promised you perfect justice and I never promised you peace or happiness. My help is so that you can be free to fight for all of these things. The only reality I offer is challenge, and being well is being free to accept it or not at whatever level you are capable. I never promise lies, and the rose-garden world of perfection is a lie...and a bore too!"

--Deborah Blau's therapist in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg