Age

I'm 27 today.  And have officially reached the age in my life when I will be married.  Years from now people will ask me, "Oh, how old were you when you got married?" And I will say the number 27. 

I knew at a very early age that I wanted to get married. Not because I had found "the one" on the playground at Alma Elementary. But because that was the normal thing to do when you grew up. At that age I probably thought I'd be married by the time I was 20. No reason really. Just sounded right, I guess.  Then in Jr. High, when I had my first boyfriend, I thought, maybe I'll get married when I'm 22. Right after college. Of course I was bound to find my 'soulmate' by then, right? Then in high school, I pushed that number back a year to 23. Again, with no real conscious reason. Well, other than the fact I was single by the end of my senior year and 22 all of a sudden sounded way to soon.

Obviously all those numbers were just fantasies.  Just like the fantasies we have for our careers. The thought of finding the love of your life and having your career dreams realized by the age of 23 is a normal thought in the mind of a teenager.  Because 23 is *just* far enough away that you think you'll have enough time to make it all happen.

And some people do. And go on to live awesome, happy, magical lives.  But most people don't.  Mike and I almost got married at 23.  Probably because we thought it was "time." Been together 3 years. Madly in love. Moved to California together. Well. Time to get married, right?

Not so much. (If you missed why, read here).

From our experience, I've learned to stop naively following arbitrarily designated times for anything. Because the truth is, the only person who knows when you are mentally ready for anything is YOU. On paper I was ready to go to college at 18. Mentally? Probably not. I got C's and D's my first year in college, hated every minute of it, and didn't absorb a single piece of knowledge. Knowledge I paid to learn, but didn't. Knowledge I would KILL to sit and absorb if given the chance today. But would I have gone to college at 18 if I could do it all over again? Probably. Because everything turned out okay for me in the end.  But is attending a traditional 4 year University the best option for every single teenager fresh outta high school?  I don't happen to think so. 

Where I'm from, and in many cultures, it's considered normal, and sometimes expected to get married at 22 or 23. Sometimes even younger.  And therefore, completely rational people like myself, who know deep down in the pit of their belly of truth that they are NOT ready, decide to get engaged because it's the normal, expected thing to do.  On paper I looked ready to get married at 23. But mentally, I was not. It's okay to have fantasies in your younger years...to dream about the person you will spend the rest of your life with. Dream, dream away, my lovelies. But in the cliched words of Roxette, in the end you need to "Listen to Your Heart." Simple shit, I know.  But really though. It's the part of your body that always knows the truth...especially when your brain is telling you to ignore it.

Today I turn 27 years old. And I can say with full confidence that I am ready to get married. It took me longer than I initially thought to mentally get here, but I'm here. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

What an exciting time to be alive!

Look it's me! Grabbing my imaginary balls in birthday excitement!

 Oh, and I almost forgot... HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY!