If you've made it to my age, 29, you probably know some of your peers that totally have their lives in order, seem completely organized and really kind of rock at everything they do. You probably know other peers that are living life on repeat as a 21 year old.
Congratulations to all of those people. Seriously, no judgment either way. It's your life, man. LIVE IT.
Most days, I feel like I'm somewhere in the middle. I own clothes and shoes older than my student loans. I struggle to keep track of tax documents and other important items that should probably be filed in a sophisticated office in my home. I really enjoy sugary cereals and being in my pajamas all weekend. But, I'm also asleep by 10 most nights, I enjoy watching the news and HGTV and yes, I am not above being organized enough to use coupons from time to time to save a few bucks (and then get REALLY excited about it).
This weekend, I got the opportunity to celebrate the first real ADULT milestone birthday, 30(!!) with one of my best friends from college. Note, she's a friend from college. Where terrible decisions and awesome memories were made. Where some stories should never really be told or even mentioned outside a close circle of friends who really "get" where you were in life at that point to really not pass judgment on your stupidity. Where poor and wonderful alike decisions were a pre-requisite to graduation. Where "responsibilities" like deadlines and projects seemed like such heavy burdens at the time and are almost laughable at this point in life. Where those same responsibilities were outweighed by mid-day naps and wearing sweatpants pretty much anywhere was socially acceptable. Where lifelong friendships were made. College was a magical place for many and my experience wasn't much different.
When I get together with friends from college, we obviously spend time walking down memory lane and retelling the stories of those days. There were times shortly after college when I thought life probably wouldn't get any better than those 4 years. Each year for Homecoming, I return to my college town with the same friend I met up with this weekend. We use the time to reconnect, in the spirit of maintaining our friendship. It's NOT to drink ourselves silly or relive the good ol' days. It's to make sure we have a solid friendship.
Anyway, this past weekend, I went out to dinner with this friend and we talked about where we are in life now. We are both married. We are both homeowners. She's a new mom to a 2 month old. I'm not far from Mommy status. Home projects are more important to us than a night out. It's just where we are in life and we agreed, WE ARE TOTALLY OKAY WITH THIS.
Some people wouldn't be, if they were us...many people would feel trapped and like they are missing out on fun elsewhere. The thing is, we know what we're missing and we'd both choose where we are now in life than anything. Why? Because we've been there, done that... and quickly got over it. We're proud grown-ups that are in bed by 10pm and pride ourselves on organized closets. We REALLY appreciate estate and garage sales and Panera in the morning.
We have both experienced judgment from others... "I could NOT do what you're doing." Well, we couldn't do what you're doing. And that's ok... we are in different places in life. This doesn't mean we don't appreciate a good night out or college-humor movies, our priorities have shifted and we've evolved past that being our whole lifestyle.
Go Bearcats,
A proud adult
No comments:
Post a Comment