A Birthday Of Significance: Making Joy Out Of Dread

Two years ago, while dreading my upcoming Birthday of Significance, I was thinking about how I wanted to mark the big occasion. I think, especially for women, getting older often is tied to a harder road to having children and finding meaningful relationships, not to mention dealing with the major body/hormone changes we encounter. There are very legitimate reasons for our emotions around aging and hitting certain milestones. I needed something to make turning this age feel joyous.

Then I recalled this little inn I had stayed at in Napa, and I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to fill up an inn with people you love and enjoy being with? As the world’s most extroverted extrovert, I love to have a good time with friends, to laugh, to eat good food, and taste good wine. If there is a pool with music playing, I have hit perfection.  

In the couple years since I first had that thought, my life has completely changed. I got divorced and sold my house. Covid dragged on; inflation soared. Something inside me needed this trip to happen. I needed to prove to myself that I could make it happen. That I was good enough, my friendships were deep enough, that I didn’t need to have a significant other, that I just needed to make what I wanted happen. That I could will it to be. 

So, I sent out an email earlier this year and waited with anticipation to see if anyone would bite.  And with each “yes” response, I did a little happy dance. Then I spent the next couple months planning the details – the timing, destinations, restaurants, flights, wineries, and transportation – with the help of my friends.

Right now, I am on a flight back from one of my favorite trips I have ever taken. I have been around the world, to all sorts of destinations, but having my best friends celebrate life with me filled me with joy and a sense of belonging. And all those who couldn’t join us but wished me a joyous day fueled the feeling. This year was the start of a new chapter of life, of me. I’m happier now. And this trip put a big exclamation point on that feeling! Just the inside jokes, all the small moments – I can’t stop thinking about those and how much they made me laugh and smile. 

It took some work to pull it off. There were a lot of last-minute changes. A big thank-you to my support group who helped smooth out the logistics, who did extra little things to make everything special. So, as I fly back, I just want you to know, freaking out about aging is okay. Milestones for us women are hard sometimes, and it’s okay. And if you need to find a little extra joy to get through it, make it something good. Will it to be.

But where did you go, Kate? Well…stay tuned for the next episode.

Katelin Moomau, Esq.

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Katelin Moomau is a founding Partner at Family First Law Group, PLLC. She graduated from McDaniel College Magna Cum Laude in 2004, and Catholic University Columbus School of Law in 2008. Katelin primarily practices family law, representing a wide range of clients with various family law issues, and is a family law mediator. She chairs the Lawyer Referral Service Committee of the Alexandria Bar Association. She is also a member of the Fairfax Bar Association and Virginia Women Attorney’s Association, Diversity Conference and Equality Virginia. In 2020, she was named one of Alexandria’s 40 Under 40 by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. She was also voted a Super Lawyer Rising Star by her peers and is a Northern Virginia Top Attorney for 2021.

Katelin has been involved with the Campagna Center since 2009, serving as EDC Chair, Secretary, Chair Bowties and Belles, Vice, Chair and Chair Ex-Officio. She has mentored fellows for the Mount Vernon Leadership Program, and she conciliates cases to help parties find resolution in the Fairfax Juvenile Court for the Fairfax Law Foundation. She also volunteers at Mount Vernon.

@ktmoomau

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