OOPSIE DOOPSIE

I’m approaching what some may call a “big” birthday this year. Leaving my twenties behind and finally joining my husband where he’s been sitting pretty for quite a few years now 😉

Over the past few months, I’ve started reflecting on the past ten years of my life, reading several new bloggers that are still enjoying their mid-twenties and meeting with women that are embarking on this new thirty-something journey. It’s a bit of a challenge to try and encapsulate my feelings, thoughts and predictions for the upcoming years. However, my reflections on my twenty-something self are apparent and available.

If there is one thing that I have learned in the past ten years, it would be that you may think you have things mapped out and planned to your liking, but then real life enters like a tornado. And life’s grand plan was greater than you even could have imagined.

You can’t anticipate all that will happen.

I’m not here to say you’ll have everything together by the time you hit 3-0. Because you won’t. I’m not here to say you will fall madly in love with your long-time boyfriend, get married and start a family. I’m definitely not here to say that you should even try to achieve the aforementioned. Because it’s YOUR journey, lady {or sir}.

Instead, I’d like to share a snapshot of my twenties – what I enjoyed, how I spent my time and reflections on my actions. Take from it what you will but remember that this decade is but a chapter. We have so much more to write, loves.

How I Spent My Twenties

:: figuring out my career path. not an easy one. if you figured out what you wanted to do in college and set right out on that path after graduation, kudos to you. for us wandering a bit farther from the path, now is the time to just take a second look. figure it out. what do you love and enjoy? do it. or change your mind. either way, you’re trying.

:: discovering what i needed out of life. sure – we need water, air, food, shelter. but what else? what is that “thing” in your life that creates an ache in your heart that continues to build day in and day out? give into it for a moment and see if it’s worth it to stick around for a while.

:: going through one big break up and several dating relationships. and having family & friends tease me, a lot, about the various names of suitors that would tag along to functions. in the end, who cares? it led me to where i am today.

:: enjoying friendships. some of the hardest times in my life were in my twenties. without my girlfriends, my life would be a little less…exciting? complete? drama-filled? well, let’s just put it this way – they were, and are, my universe. the aunts to my daughter. the mates to my soul. indebted. cherish these women and men that enter your life and stick around.

:: praying and reconnecting with my faith. definitely a “to each their own” moment, however i found that reconnecting with my faith helped prepare me for personal struggles. it wasn’t exactly an easy decision, but in my heart, i knew what i wanted to do. and as time went on, hubs and i had this discussion, and we agreed on how we would raise our family.

:: contemplating a big {physical} move. should i stay or should i go? when in doubt, travel it out. before you know it, that real life that i mentioned before will swoop in and make it all topsy turvy. while it’s just you, take the experience over the convenience. i tasted it. i traveled. in the end, i ditched my plan. soon after, i met my main squeeze. and he was here because he took a chance and gambled on a life-changing experience. sorry minnesota, he’s all mine now!

:: last but not least, breath. one, you don’t have a choice. two, you will have so many more years to worry and stress – this is not the time, my friend. i promise.

There are so many more moments and tiny details that encompass this fantastic decade. To rush through it without blinking or savoring the quiet moments would be tragic. Just remember – everything has a time and a place. You will get to where you are going – just takes time!

xo, me