I turn 28 today, but I honestly don’t feel that old. Or maybe 28 doesn’t feel that old to anyone, but somehow I thought that I would be less forgetful, more deliberate, and at a point in my life where I had sage wisdom to offer someone “much” younger than I. But I am not there yet, and probably never will.

It is funny to look back at the plans that we make for ourselves. Who we think we will become as we age and what our lives will look like. While a birthday can be an annual reminder of the things we have yet to accomplish or things we haven’t gotten around to, this year, I am taking another approach. Rather than seeing the items that have not checked off my bucket list, I am smiling at those things that never made it on the list and celebrating the experiences that I could not have foreseen.

Today, as I begin my 28th year, I am overwhelmed with the gratitude that I get to build my life with an amazing woman and am thankful for what 2012, and the years prior, have offered us. Instead of worrying about who I might become, I am happy with who I am. Because when I look back, I know it has been good.