Sunday, April 26, 2009

29 And Feeling Fine

Friday marked the day. Now I have 353 days left until the big three-O.

Whenever I have a birthday, for some reason, I always think back ten years.

Wow twenty-nine. I can't believe I'm really 29. It seems like only last Tuesday I was 19. Livin' it up in good old Rexburg. Yes sir. Just last week I was sitting in the big, brown dome that was Hogi Yogi, studying at the library on campus.... (wavy lines going through the air, blurring my image as we all travel back in time to yesteryear and my nineteen year old thoughts....)

I bet my life is going to be amazing in ten years. I'll have been married for at least six years to a knight in shining armour who never argues with me. I'll have 2 -- maybe 3 kids. I'll have a journalism career...unless I decide to switch majors on Monday...then my OB/GYN practice is going to be the coolest. Or my peace corps time will have been well served...haven't decided yet. And I will live on the most beautiful tree lined street and know all my neighbors and be settled and live there until we retire. Ahhh, it's going to be great. Shoot, I have an algebra test tomorrow. I can't believe I'm actually getting a C. How embarrassing. What was that? The library is closing in ten minutes? Already? How long have I been here day dreaming? Hey, he's cute. I wonder if he'll be here at the same time tomorrow night. I wish I knew his name. I could look up his entire class schedule.
(Yes, this was really possible back then. Class schedule, where they lived in Rexburg, where they lived when they went home for break, phone number. It was quite ridiculous really. Back to flash back.) Wait, is tonight Wednesday? Oh man. I missed Dawson's Creek. Again! Now I'm two weeks behind. I need to buy some blank VHS tapes at the book store. Oh well. I'm sure the girls will fill me in....

Oh young, naive, 10 years ago Kara. If you only knew. Allow me to fill you in.

Ten years later I am married. But only for 4 years so far, not 6. He is amazing. Not a knight in shining armor though. At least not what you had in mind. But don't worry 19 year old Kara. He's much, much better. Turns out that the knight types you imagined usually end up being weirdos anyway. They never live up to their own hype. I prefer the genuine, warm, flawed man I married. He's real. And really, really in love with us. Much more than I ever thought was possible. Oh, and (surprise!) we argue. Sorry to disappoint. But again, don't worry. The small tiffs never last. Turns out making out --- er, I mean, making up can be a lot of fun. You'll see.

And just so you know little freshman/sophomore in college, no kids yet. Having a bit of a difficulty in that department. But again, no worries. We have a rough patch for a few years. And it's still not over, so I can't tell you how it's going to end. But brace yourself for a few heartaches and major disappointments. However, we are very blessed. The more that comes our way, the more strength and support we get from heaven. And 29 year old Kara feels pretty good about our life right now. No kids, but no worries. Things will work out. We've been promised this by a loving Creator. Keep the faith in the beginning though. It might be hard.

About that whole career thing. Umm. I'm glad you are studying. It is a great thing. However, no lasting, sustainable career to put on a resume. Don't panic. We finished school. We loved college. We are very grateful for our education. But it turns out that changing majors 6 times was a little indicative to how restless we are in jobs. I don't really want to explain it too much, but the kid thing also has something to do with this. The good news is, we are only 29. Mom just picked her career when she was 50! That's right, our mom went back to school and now she's an amazing fourth grade teacher. And she's happy and doing great work and changing little 4th grader lives. There's always time to develop and find something that will fulfill us. Journalism? Sure. (However, it will probably be in electronic media. The newspaper is dying. We are sad about this.) Doctor? Nah. We are no good at science. (You'll find out.) In the meantime, we are very happy supporting our husband and stay busy with various projects and tasks and businesses. (You'll see. We're busy. But I'm pretty sure we'll never have the opportunities we are having in our lives like this again. So 29 year old us is trying to live it up, make the most of it and appreciate where we are at.)

One more thing. About being "settled" by now...let's see. How do I tell you? I'll just say it. We have moved and lived in 5 different cities in the four years we've been married. Our husband recently picked a job (which he loves) that will cause us to travel around and live in different places. Before the job, we moved 2 times. Our husband is kind of a mover and a shaker. So get used to change. It behooves us to keep up with him. (He's really great. I can't wait for you to meet him.) So we might be hopping around for a while yet.

So just to sum up. Not married to the kind of man we thought we would marry. No kids yet. No fulfilling, life sustaining career. No picket fence by now with peach trees growing in the backyard. Our life is nothing like you imagined it would be by now. It's better. We are happy. This might be the best time of our life yet.

(Now hurry home to 119. Those girls end up being your friends for a long time. Take care of them!)

See ya soon Kara.


Love,
Kara



4 comments:

michael. mindy. dane. said...

LOVE it! Totally made me smile. One of the posts I'll call Michael in to read. (Don't be offended that he doesn't read all of them. He only looks at our blog when he's forced to). Happy b-day again! Hope it was fabulous!

David and Brooke Gallagher said...

How fun! life is fun to look back and see what expectations you had as a young adult, sometimes things are not as planned but it is always better then you imagined!!! Hope life takes you on more wonderful and exciting adventures! Happy Birthday!

Kamal and Amber said...

I thought we lived in apt. 110 : ). Hey I totally meant to text or call you on your b-day and I completely spaced it. Kamal's sisters' b-day is the same day and I was so worried about forgetting hers and I forgot yours instead. Anywho, my life didn't exactly turn out the way I had planned either, but I am glad we are both happy. Hope you had a great day!!

Red Clover said...

I loved you post! Boy..that's how I feel...husband, different then planned, and more perfect, no kids...they seem to be late, and, what? I'm still a year away from graduating and not going to school and the state legislature just eliminated my job as of next month? Ha ha. Life is quite the adventure.

(This is Bethany by the by...from my garden blog)