Is there life after 30?

My daughter E. (the one in the red) is turning 30 tomorrow (make that today), and she is pretty bummed about the whole thing. I don't remember being particularly depressed about about turning 30, and neither does E's older sister, C. 40 was tough. 50 was tougher. But I don't remember being despondent over turning 30. Actually, I was almost 30 when E. was born -- and I had three more children after her!

The sad truth is that many (if not most) women regard 30 as some sort of turning point, a watershed age, an ugly black bar dissecting the timeline of their lives, by which everything else will be measured. Like counting our years by the birth of Christ, everything in their lives will be identified as either B.T. or A.T. We have these lofty, ambitious, and perhaps unrealistic expectations of what we should have accomplished by the age of 30, and if we haven't met those goals, then obviously we are doomed to be a failure because everyone knows that it's all downhill after 30. I beg to differ.
And so do a lot of other people, too. I found a wonderful commentary by Andy Rooney about women turning 30. Forgive me for copying and pasting it here, but I want to make sure that E. reads it. Believe me, Sweetie, the best years are yet to come.

Turning 30 by Andy Rooney

As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?". She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting.

A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she's doing.

Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women
friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women. Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free." Here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get a little sausage.