Growing Old Gracefully?

I will be turning 30 this summer. With turning 30 comes a lot of thoughts of getting old and whether or not I have accomplished all I wanted to accomplish by this age. I keep hearing that life begins at 30 but I doubt the truth to that statement. My body is telling me on a daily basis that I am not that young anymore. I have my sore knee and my bad back. However, I have been able to convince myself up to this point that I still looked younger. That was until a couple of nights ago when I had one of those moments that all women (and some men) fear. I was going through my nightly routine preparing for bed. You know, brushing the teeth, washing the face. My part was off so I picked up the brush to brush my hair when I noticed something shiny catching the light in the mirror. At that point, panic set in. So I reach up and grab the offender out of my head and proceed to show it to Shawn. Now my first thought was that it was a residual blond hair from my days of highlighted blond hair that are not too far past. However, with much consultation from my soon-to-be salt-and-pepper husband and comparing the strand to the closest dark towel in the bathroom, we determined that it was indeed a gray hair. So there you have it. That rite of passage has taken place. I have found my first gray hair. After all I have been through in the last 3 years, it should come as no surprise to me. However, I suddenly feel the need to return to my hairdresser and start the highlights again.