Mommy is turning 30.

As some of you may know, I am turning 30 in just over a week. A big, even number like that can be a bit... intimidating. Throw in my upcoming 10-year wedding anniversary (where did the time go?) and the way Monroe's 18 months of life outside the womb have unfolded so so quickly and I'm honestly a little shaken.

My best response is to try to harness the energy I'd normally put into some kind of birthday party into something that will offer a more lasting sense of satisfaction: a charity project. That way, I won't have to face a party if I feel glum, and I'll have one more small answer to the what-have-done-with-my-life question my misbehaving mind may choose plague one with when I ought to be celebrating.

I am working with a wonderful charity in my neighborhood that helps parents who are faced with homelessness keep their families together and their children safe. In this economic crisis, I think more of us have realized that we're only a few steps away from the heartache of having no place to stay. Since the families often come with nothing, I have volunteered to furnish an apartment for one of the charity's client families.

If you want to know more, please visit the website I have created to organize the effort. You can learn lots more about the project there, and even make an online donation! And please feel free to publicize this effort to anyone you think would want to learn more about it, or email me for more information.