28 going on...28

Each year my birthday creeps up faster and faster. I remember being 12, and counting down the days from February until my May 27th birthday. I remember thinking how different life would be when I was 13. The funny part is that it really didn't change a whole lot. I was miraculously the same person, at 13, on May 28, that I was at age 12, on May 26.

In fact, I always sort of felt like it took me a while to "grow into" my age. When someone would remind me that I was 13, or 16, or 18, or 21, it felt like that age was beyond my reach, and that I surely would have to grow up some to fit it. As I entered my twenties, I always felt this driving pressure to be older, to adjust to my age. I felt driven in my education, my career, my relationship...I felt driven financially to become the adult that everyone clearly expected me to be.

28 feels different. I look around, and I see my home. Yes, I love my home. I treasure it. It's not big, and it needs work, but I adore this little house. I love my husband. I love my career, and I love that it is currently on hold while I wait for my next adventure--motherhood. I have great friends, and my health is ever-improving.

For the first time in my life, though, I feel older than my age.

Not in a bad way. I guess I maybe just feel like I'm on pace, or maybe even a little ahead of the game. I'm really not, but I feel like the last two years have been absolutely crazy. I went from being engaged to no longer being a "newlywed". I went from being childless, to "expecting". I went from being relatively new to my career, to being someone who got a phone call just the other day from another practitioner, because she needed to refer a client to someone more "experienced". What a trip.

I drive a minivan.

It's all downhill from here. So, I might as well throw my arms up and scream with glee. :P