22 years down... How many to go?

Growing up I couldn't wait to be the next age, 13 meant I was FINALLY a teenager! 15 meant I could FINALLY get braces! (Yes, you can ask my mom, I begged for braces for years!) 16 meant I could FINALLY have that "Sweet 16" birthday like everyone else had. 18 was when I could FINALLY call myself a legal adult and I felt I could get away with more than usual (yes, I was THAT teenager. A pain in my parent's butt for sure..) And of course graduation meant I was FINALLY out of school. 19 meant I was FINALLY only 1 year away from not being a teenager anymore. 

And then...

20...

21...

22...

What happened!? Where's the excitement!? I got married, and life went on. Now I'm at the point where I'm realizing that life isn't about those silly little goals. It's about life itself. 

Today, on my 22nd birthday, I find myself with different goals, different dreams, different needs, different wants, and more life experience under my belt than I did at 13 for sure. I don't claim to know a lot. I still have a lifetime ahead of me.

There's one thing that I know for sure. Life isn't what you expect it to be. You take what you get, and you try really hard not to throw a fit! If I could tell my younger self 1 thing it would be this:

Enjoy the moment you are in! STOP trying to make life go faster, STOP wanting more than what you have in this moment because LIFE happens!! It will steal your time, it will steal your age, it will steal those precious moments away from you and you won't even realize it until it's too late to enjoy them. 

Today I had lunch with my wonderful husband and I am grateful! After almost 3 years of being together this is the first birthday I've had the pleasure of physically spending with him! Life had its way of making sure he was far away for work every year around my birthday so I relish these moments. He came home this morning at 1:30 am with a cake in hand and candles, woke me up and celebrated me, this tangled curly headed, sleepy faced, surprised self. He took the time to stop at Walmart for the numbers "22" candles (how he found them I have no idea..he can't find a bag of chips in front of his nose!😜)  and a cake at 1 in the morning. The man never stops on his way home, even if it means he misses dinner because he just didn't want to stop in the drive through to get it. He did this for me! In those moments I realize just how much he loves me. He loves me more than I love myself!! I find myself sober today in the fact that yes, I may be sitting in my car alone, I may not have any family here, my sister may not be able to go birthday shopping with me, there will be no celebratory dinner with all of my family singing the Young version of Happy Birthday in loud and off tones but I find myself moved to tears at how GRATEFUL I am for family and friends and this beautiful Spring day to celebrate life itself! I thank God for this day. For another chance to strive for my life. Another day to become a better me. Another day to love harder, laugh longer, and just be thankful!

Life is precious, don't take advantage of it. Live positive lives. Negativity never made anyone's life better. 

I will put a smile on my face and thank God for the chance to live through another beautiful birthday! 

Who knows if I'll see another one...

Mrs.G🌸

3/24/2016