I grew up deep in the heart of Texas in a very liberal household. My mom is from Pennsylvania and my dad is from Missouri. We were working class, raised Jewish, blue blooded Democrats. My mom was adamant that I would never talked with a Texan accent because it “sounded ignorant.” Despite all of this influence, there was no keeping me away from Tim McGraw.

The first time I made out with somebody all night long was to his “Greatest Hits” album  (true confession- he was a bull rider on my high school's rodeo team. How Texan is that?)  I slow danced at summer camp on the tennis court to “Don’t Take the Girl” and remember fondly driving down country roads singing “Down on the Farm.” As much as I loved my pop-punk CDs, Tim McGraw, sweet tea, and Texas country definitely held a special place in my heart.

As I’m about to hit my 30th birthday, I can’t help but think about his song “My Next 30 Years.” Look at these cheese ball lyrics:

I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age

The ending of an era and the turning of a page

Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here

Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun

Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done

Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears

And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores

Cry a little less, laugh a little more

Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear

Figure out just what I’m doing here

In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight

Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late

Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers

Maybe I’ll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life

Raise a little family and hang out with my wife

Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear

Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years

In my next thirty year

Reading those lyrics, I gotta say, I’ve done a pretty good job so far. An upcoming blog post will cover some reflections on my last 10 years, but yeah, overall, I’m pretty darn pleased with things. So, Tim, thanks, I think I’d be ok doing all of that in my next 30 years.