How would you label your life's decades?

[Deleted]

As I approach the big 4-0 this December, I was thinking about each decade of my life and how I'd label each. So I pose this to the board:

How would you label your life's decades with one word?

My 0-10 was the decade of _____________.
My teens was the decade of _____________.
My 20s was the decade of ____________... and so on.

Remember, one word. Good luck with that.

[Deleted]

I'll go first:

My 0-10 was the decade of reading. (I learned to read at three and couldn't put a book down.)
My teens was the decade of separation. (Parents separated then divorced, turmoil ensued.)
My 20s was the decade of searching. (I was in all kinds of relationships - church, men, friends - to find identity, and I often made the wrong choices yet I learned a ton.)
My 30s was the decade of grounding. (I got married, had two kids, and finally found what I want to do with my life and have been doing it all. It's crazy, but I feel very happy.)

[hamster]

Hmmm...

My 0-10 was the decade of sports. I was always playing with the neighborhood boys.
My teens was the decade of drama. Welcome to being a girl.
My 20s was the decade of drinking? That sounds terrible. But I drank a lot in the early years (see: college), a decent amount in the middle, and far too much at the end. 29 was an extremely rough year hangover wise. I ain't 21 no more.

I just hit 30 earlier this year. I can't even imagine what this decade will hold.

[JayhawkGirl]

0-10: exploring. These were the peak moving years with my dad in the service. Lived in some neat places.

10-20: perfection. Fought with my dad, a lot. Trying to be perfect to ease the stress. Ulcer by age 17.

20-30: me. My life, my job, my house, my terms. And through it, I reached a peaceful place with my dad.

30-39: us. Met DH, married, kids. My world is pretty much always from the perspective of the two of us or the four of us.

[nsl]

0-10: Years of self-doubt--I dealt with some pretty intense bullying in elementary school, and these years were pretty awful.

10-20: Years of self-esteem--I made some amazing friends in middle/high school and really came into my own. My own wound up being a pretty uptight control freak, but I landed a full ride scholarship to college and kicked ass in general, so I can't really complain.

20-30: Years of adult choicees--I got married, had two kids, and moved cross-country twice for H's job. I wouldn't change anything now, but I do wish I'd given myself a chance to enjoy being a footloose and fancy-free adult before settling down.

30-33: Years of self-improvement--After my second son was born when I was 29 I decided to make my 30's the decade when I became the person I really wanted to be. So far I've traveled, taken steps to become really happy with my physical appearance, gotten my Master's degree, worked really hard for a promotion at work, and focused on being a great mom. This is easily my best decade yet, if only because I've decided to make it awesome.

[jsillyfun]

0-10 was family. I was super close with them and just loved doing everything with them.
10-20 was love. I fell in love with dh and it was most if what I cared about from 16-20
20-30 was career. I got my mfa, got some professional acting experience and joined the actors unions.
30-40 so far is kids. I had dd at 29 and she's been my life since then.

[Deleted]

How fitting. I turn 30 in less than 2 weeks!

0-10 = adventure. As a military family we moved and travelled a lot.

11-20 = optimism. I really enjoyed my teen years and I didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up, but I felt like I had good things to look forward to. 

21-30 = change. What a great decade overall! Marriage (ending in divorce), lived in 3 different states and overseas, my parent's got divorced after 30 years of marriage, started wearing my hair natural after having a relaxer my whole life, did a post-bacc program and decided to go to med school, fell in love again and next year I'll be a doctor. 

[SmartyCat]

0-10 - belonging. Both sides of the coin - I felt the comfort of belonging, and the sting of being on the outside looking in.
10-20 - freedom. I grew up in a strong extended family culture, and not always for the better. School, youth group, travel, college all broadened my horizons and helped me realize I wasn't stuck.
20-30 - trailblazing. Doing all the "right" things - diploma, first real job, marriage, baby in short order (see family culture above) - was no guarantee that life would work out. My XH was/is mentally ill, and I was a solo mom by 25.
30-40 - endurance. Raised DS, got my MBA, put one foot in front of the other, had some fun adventures along the way.
40-50 - love. Met DH, fell in love, got married. Saw DS launch a happy adult life.
50+ ? just starting out. If I had to choose a word today it would be joy. Took too long to shake off a midlife crisis, but once I declared it over I've started chasing new adventures.

[mrsukyankee]

My 0-10 was the decade of learning - loved to read, do math, cook, etc. My little brain just soaked it all up.
My teens was the decade of shyness - seriously socially anxious which influenced me in so many ways until I got CBT for it & well, then came my 20s.
My 20s was the decade of becoming - I grew so much, tried a lot of things out, had fun, cried a bunch, but I grew
My 30s was the decade of exploring - moved jobs, moved overseas, got married.
My 40s (so far) is the decade of accepting - accepting of my limitations but also my passions, not getting drawn into political bullshit and realising that I can control only my own reactions and no one else's actions.

[stealthmom]

0-10 death. My dad died when I was 7.

Teens- socialization. I was a complete butterfly involved in everything.

20's- travel? That's the biggest theme I can think of for those ten years. Studied abroad twice. Worked in a foreign country a year after I graduated. And after that travelled as much as possible.
30's- children. Had my first at thirty and just just had my second.

[Michelle]

My life has been too tumultuous to label by decade. Within one ten year span my mother divorced and married twice . Add a couple years and you have 3 weddings . And yet that was only some of the tumult .

I will just say Age 20 to 29 was adventure, and independence, and finding myself.

[bluestreet]

One word is damn hard!

0-9: Hardship
10-19: Discovery
20-29: Embracing

30-39 Fatigue?

[Deleted]

0-10, innocence. Lots of happy memories. I had no clue my parents hated each other so much until our Disney vacation when I was ten

Teens: drive and determination. Lots of activities, growth and big dreams. Study abroad, graduating early, lots of pressure on myself

20's: chaos. Parents' finally divorce, lots of moves, reality check about low income and creating debt. 2 miscarriages and some crazy bosses

30's seem to be about stability and confidence building. Same job, same address, amazing family. Stood up to my mom and getting assertive at work. Hoping to be debt free before this decade ends.

[katfco]

My 0-10 was the decade of innocence.

My teens was the decade of turmoil.

My 20s was the decade of growth

My 30s has been the (almsot half) decade of patience.

[erbear]

My 0-10 was the decade of INNOCENCE
My teens was the decade of FUN
My 20s was the decade of SETTLING 
My 30s was the decade of MAMAHOOD

Hoping my 40s are the decade of BLISS