July is almost over. W.T.F. I’ve been anticipating a horrifically hot summer here in FL, hotter than Atlanta, hotter than hell. But summer’s just flying by, and because work has now gotten really busy, I’m barely even aware that the work week is over until it’s over. I haven’t experienced death by humidity yet because I’m locked up tight in my work cave all day (although there have been a few mornings that I’ve regretted my choice of curling my hair). The only part of the weather I see is walking to and from my car, walking 3 miles after work, and walking the dog at home (and let’s not forget dark skies on my commute home). That’s all I got folks. Not complaining, but slightly bummed that I did all that worrying about the heat for nothing.

The last few weekends have also flown the hell by. I’ve barely had a chance to come up for breath between the traveling, the laughing, and the catching-up-on-sleep. I know I called it in with the last post of iPhone pictures, but hey, that’s about all I had time for. Case in point: I now just throw my hair up into that always-sexy-librarian bun because I can’t freaking be bothered to do anything else with it. Not the epitome of great morning time-management (not that I ever claimed that I had that). I haven’t filled y’all in on quite a few weekend trips, but to save you the headache, I’ll catch you up later.

Anywho, this post isn’t about all those weekends spent away or on our couch. This post is about something I want to everyone to know about, so spread the word. This post is about “30 Years, 1 Wish“.

Have you seen the picture on the right side of our blog?

Have you seen the “30 Years, 1 Wish” page tab on our navigation menu? Have no idea what it is or too lazy to type in the password? First of all, that’s ridiculous. Type in the password that you received on the back side of your invitation and read the freaking page. No, I do not want to have to recap everything off that page simply because you haven’t taken all of 5 minutes to read it yourself. That’s why the page was designed, sillies, so that you could read on your own time and get the answers to questions. I know you all are busy with babies and work and stuff, but just read it. I promise it’s funny and is useful.

This event is a pretty damn important event for Timmy and I. Ever since I started thinking about turning 30, I knew I wanted to do something totally different. I’ve had a few friends raise funds in honor of their 30th birthdays, but on a small scale for causes that are deeply personal for them. I wanted to do something large-scale, almost wedding-like because we’ve been to enough now to figure out how to do a reception-like event on a beer-budget (I’ll get to the beauty of using those words in just a sec). What could we do that would throw the concept of turning 30 on its head? Instead of something people fear, becoming something people aspire to being? That’s when “30 Years, 1 Wish” popped into my head.

“30 Years, 1 Wish” is our fundraiser for turning 30. Some people don’t understand why we’re making such a big deal about turning 30, saying things like, “Well, wait till you turn 40, 50, [insert some other decade]!” and sounding pretentious and condescending. We get it. 30 is not that awe-inspiring, and we’re not saying it’s the most amazing thing to happen in the history of ever. Sure, we both had AMAZING 30th birthdays this year. Why it’s important to us is simple: we’ve known too many people who didn’t get to turn 30. We’ve known too many people who didn’t get to be at any of our important events up until we turned 30. And that alone is cause for celebration.

Why should others get to celebrate their 30ths/weddings/engagements/showers/etc. with tons of beer and blackouts but people think that throwing a fundraiser for turning 30 is over-the-top? I’d like to think it’s saying something about how we were raised and the type of support we’ve received from family and friends that helped us carry out this idea into a real cause. We have always pretty much received anything we’ve ever wanted and needed. We’re not delusional about our blessings; we know we’ve been above and beyond gifted simply because of the families and circumstances we were born into. All our lives, we’ve been able to be selfish, going after the dreams we’ve wanted because we had the opportunities and the freedom to do so. We haven’t been burdened with debt. We’ve had tragedies occur, sure, but we’ve been determined to not let those misfortunes rule our lives. We’ve amassed amazing friendships, stories, and countless memories of fun and laughter, and we’ve grown into becoming responsible, self-sufficient adults with purpose and direction in life.

The last few years have been difficult for everyone, needless to say, with the recession, student loan rates, unemployment or underemployment, senseless violence in media, and the growing ideological rift between political parties. Everyone has something to say, and everyone has something to complain about.

We’re here to say it loud and proud, “Shut up and give back“.

It’s easy to get caught in that never ending cycle of, “Life is hard, life isn’t fair, someone owes me something, I don’t like what’s happening, blah, blah, blah.” But don’t let that stop you from understanding that people are still suffering greatly. People are still routinely shut out of opportunities that we’ve never stopped twice to think about in our own lives. People still need help. It’s our duty to help when and where we can. It makes us better people, emotionally and mentally, it helps us become more compassionate and understanding. This isn’t about blaming people for the circumstances of their lives, and bootstrap pulling, and crap like that. It’s just about helping, plain and simple.

The purpose of “30 Years, 1 Wish” is to raise funds for our three charities: mine is the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence, Timmy’s is the American Indian College Fund, and our joint charity is the Colon Cancer Alliance. These organizations all mean something special to us and it would mean the world to us to use our birthdays as a chance to raise awareness of the amazing work that they do and to help them in their missions. We’ve rented out the Red Brick Brewing Company y’all (told you I’d get to the beer budget), so be prepared for some amazing local craft brews and a brewery tour. $25 gets you admission, a pint glass, and 4 beers! We have an amazing band, food truck, and raffle prizes! We’ve partnered with Uber to give you an amazing deal on car service so DON’T DRIVE DRUNK! No excuses.

All of this information plus more can be found on our “30 Years, 1 Wish” page, so please click on the link (password is 30years1wish) to RSVP and to donate. Everything is online to make it easier for you to read up on each organization, why each cause is important to us, where you can stay in Atlanta, and more.

(Un)Fortunately, Music Midtown is the same weekend, and like a friend I know who had this same problem when planning their wedding a few years ago, we set our date and ordered the invites before Music Midtown announced their date to the public. Understandably, a lot of you will want to go to the concerts (although bands will come back to Atlanta to perform, more likely indoors where you won’t sweat to death with 20,000 drunk, out-of-control, underage kids). We are anticipating this. But please, if you are able to, please think about donating anyway. These organizations need your donations and help. We won’t even call you out if, in the past, we attended something major of yours instead of doing something else we may have wanted to do. Honest, we won’t. We’ll still love you.

Please go to our “30 Years, 1 Wish” page and RSVP by August 1st. We need the numbers to let the brewery know how many bartenders to supply us with the night of the event as well as let the food truck know how much grub to supply. Start making travel plans now and take advantage of the great deals we secured for you. We can’t wait to see you at our party, and we can’t wait to share the amazing feeling that giving back can bring you. Thank you for supporting us always, for your love and guidance, and with luck, we’ll be able to pass that support and love on and on and on and on. If you would like to donate online, please visit this link.

♥,

VB & Timmy