In 2001, I was working three jobs and going to graduate school. I had been single for about a year, and if I wasn't working, I was hanging out with my sister and a couple of friends. We did lots of fun yet meaningless stuff: concerts, Denny's, laughing at ourselves, and tattoos. I could lay in bed and devour Anne Rice's The Witching Hour with no other responsibilities calling to me.
That girl is gone.
In 2002, my boyfriend (now husband), Keith, knew I was looking for a new job. He found an ad for the college where I currently work. I applied for two positions, was offered both, chose one. It was part-time, but allowed me to focus on my graduate studies and still have a life outside of work/school. I wore funky jewelry, had red hair with black "highlights", smoked on my way to work, and did other meaningless (but fun) things.
That girl is gone.
Yesterday I received an email from work. This month, I will be honored for 10 years of service with a dinner and a gift.
That makes me feel old.
Somehow, along the way, a part-time job turned into a full-time career. Now there is a husband, three children, and a mortgage. Car payments, school tuition, and daycare bills. A cup of coffee on the drive into work. I still wear cords and funky jewelry, but there are no more tattoos, no more fun hair - because there is no money for frivolous things. I read books on parenting and sensory processing disorder (with the occasional vamp thrown in).
If I could talk to that girl I used to be, what would I tell her? Have more fun? Date more guys?
Savor every moment.
And if that girl could talk to the woman I've become, she'd tell her - Just wait. You'll be busier, but life will be so much sweeter. You will miss the meaningless, frivolous things, but you will gain so much more.
Just don't forget me.
Comments
And I think I'd tell 10 years ago self the same thing =). It was fun while it lasted, and I miss some fo those things sometimes, but life is SO much sweeter now!