It was my birthday last week, September 7th.  I’m a Virgo through and through, including the positives (meticulous, reliable, practical, diligent, analytical) and the negatives (skeptical, perfectionist, inflexible, interfering).  I’m also a first-born, so between my Birth Order and my Birth Sign, I think my Type-A personality is a foregone conclusion, but I digress…..

Birthdays are always a time of contemplation for me, musing over the year that was and the year that will be.  With a birthday that usually falls during the first week of back-to-school, my birthday also signals new beginnings, exciting ‘firsts’, and changing seasons.  Here’s what my life looks like after 33 years of living and learning, and it’s not what I thought it would be:

I thought I’d be an Albertan forever.  When I moved to Toronto in August 2002, it was meant to be a four-year Chiropractic College stint, and then back to my Calgary life.  But I met my husband in January 2004 on a blind date.  Who meets their life partner on a blind date??  Me, that’s who.  So here I am in Burlington, and I love it.  This is home now.

I thought I’d still be able to play the piano.  I have a full decade of piano training, and yet I struggle to play the most basic pieces, as I have not played regularly in 15 years.  That’s about to change…… my parents are hauling my late Grandmother’s antique piano across Canada this Fall, and I will have this treasured piece of history in my house come November.

I thought I’d write a book.  A book about what, I’m not sure.  But I’ve always loved to write; from my lock-and-key diary as an 8-year-old to high school English essays to long letters to Great Aunts.  In actuality, this blog fulfills my need-to-write tendency.

I thought I’d never have kids.  Who wants to change dirty diapers?  And get up in the middle of the night to settle a crying baby?  And not be able to travel on a whim or stay out all night?  As it turns out, I do.  My family is my greatest accomplishment, and I actually do have a maternal instinct.

I thought I’d be running marathons a few times a year.  But competitive running doesn’t interest me as much as it used to.  Perhaps that’s just the life stage that I’m in, but for now I’m content to stick with 10Ks, runs with my kids in the double Chariot, and Crossfit.

I thought I’d work 9-5, wear heels, and carry a briefcase.  Instead, I wear track pants, running shoes, and my ‘Dr. Worobec, Active Sport & Health‘ shirt so that I can tell my patients not to sit 9-5, wear high heels, or carry a heavy briefcase.

I thought I’d have girlfriends that I go to brunch with every Sunday, a la Sex & The City.  In reality, my greatest friends are spread out in Washington, Calgary, Raleigh, and Kitchener, and Sunday brunches are few and far between.  In the meantime, Skype, email, and sporadic visits allow me to cherish and appreciate those friendships even more.

I thought I couldn’t be more content than I was last year on my birthday.  I am.

This is where I spent the morning of my birthday- at the Driving Range with my son and my dad. Perfect.