Do you see the comments about the daughter who is 25? Well, I was her daughter's sixth grade teacher, when I was 25. Vickie so kindly shared with me that Lauryn, my sweet little student is,
--wait for it--
25.
Like, as in out of college.
As in a quarter of a century.
Twenty FIVE FREAKING YEARS OLD.
I thought they were still in high school, because, clearly, I am just shy of turning 30.
Not really.
Isn't aging fun?
Anyway, it led me to a conclusion. I have decided, upon my birthday on Wednesday, that I am going to remain ageless. I feel like I'm 25. I try to appear like I'm 25 (minus the crop tops (NEVER a good idea), add in a little anti-aging night cream and LOTS of exercise). So why not just BE 25.
Forever?
Well, because at 25 I thought I had it all figured out. Joe and I were readying to not only be married that summer, but were also looking for houses. I was applying for grad school (because, you know, I'd obviously become a principal...ha, again.). Joe was at the top of his career game, and kids were just a wistful glimmer in our really bright future.
Fast forward 12 years, and I'm so tired I don't have hardly any opinion on anything agricultural and would rather lament on my 37th year of birth.
Lucky you.
However, wouldn't my decision to remain ageless mean that I won't have to lament any more? When I hear of a young pup turning the wonderful age of 34 (which was a good year for me), I can congratulate him or her on the accomplishment, and relish in the fact that I loved 34. When a kiddo turns the corner to 20, I can remember the lovely, lazy days of my college birthday at 20 (no details necessary). 40, 49, 55, those numbers don't scare me anymore because I have decided to just be ageless. All ages and stages are great. All ages and stages are hard. All ages and stages are interesting, frustrating, and demanding, all in their own special way. At 25, my biggest decisions were flower colors, two or three bathrooms, and what shoes to buy.
I know, I was working really hard back then.
Friends, I think I'm not thinking that hard right now, because my big decisions today have been straight or curly hair and rice or peanut butter for lunch.
Are you jealous of my life yet?
Well, in my own fickle way, I have decided, just in this short blog post that I will embrace 37. It's not that bad. My students are 25, and while 25 was a great, life changing, Hawaii tripping, marathon running year, it was just one of the best, because I have had 12 really good ones in between.
Here's to another 12 years, life! In that amount of time, I'll have two sixth graders, two freshmen (one in high school, one college), and two juniors (high school and college).
That's pretty amazing, but my mind just blew up.
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