When I Grow Up ...

How many times as a child were you asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? It is a common question and children have no shortage of answers.  Fireman, veterinarian, teacher, policeman and so forth.  Someone asked me this question recently.  It was said in a joking manner, but I admit it made me stop and think.  

What do I want to be when I grow up?  Think think think ....

Wait a minute,  I am a grown up!

Want to know a secret? There are days I do not feel grown up.  Some days the five year old in me (the bossy know it all spoiled bratty five year old) stomps her foot and declares "I don't wanna grow up!".  This tends to happen the most when bills have to be paid :)

Then I start singing the song from Peter Pan:

I won't grow up,
I don't want to wear a tie.
Or a serious expression
In the middle of July.
And if it means I must prepare
To shoulder burdens with a worried air,
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up
Not me,
Not I,
Not me!
So there!

So there indeed.

I think all of us have some idea of what 'grown up' is.  At what point do you feel you are 'grown up'? Is it in your late 20's when you are married and raising a child? Is it when you are in the corporate world climbing the proverbial ladder? Is it when you have an AA, a BA, a Masters, a PhD? Is it when you teach grades 5-12? Is it when you have the career you've always wanted, the one you've worked your butt off for?  Is it the age or the life experience?

For me, I think I will feel 'grown up' when I become Suzy Homemaker.  When I cook wonderfully healthy meals, refuse to go out and eat fast food, stop buying sweets, have mastered the household budget, the laundry is always done, the beds are always made, the table is always clean, the floor is always shiny and crumb-free, toys/books are put away neatly, and I have wonderful whimsical decorations for every season.  Someday ... someday I'll be a grown up :)

5 Years

Five years ago I said "I do" to a wonderful man.  Five years ago I married my best friend. Five years ago I was 22 years old.  Five years ago I had been out of college for six months.  Five years ago I had been working for a month.  Five years ago the man I was marrying had just gotten cleared to be a substitue teacher.   Five years ago we had moved into my aunt and uncle's guest house.  Five years ago started out with big hopes and dreams. Five years ago today is one of my favorite memories.  

Five years later, my hopes and dreams have come true.  We live in a house where I am beyond blessed to be a stay at home mom to our energetic & charming 1 1/2 year old boy.  My husband is in his fourth year of teaching & loves what he does.  In five years, I have learned to cook and can make something other than spaghetti (!!).  I am more in love with my husband today than I was when I married him.  Five years later, we are closer & more in tune with each other.  We have learned communication skills, read Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus,  and learned what our love languages are.  We are learning how to be parents, which creates a whole new ballgame. 

In five years, we have been amazed again and again by God's faithfulness and His constant provision.  How great is our God! I look back on our first five years of marriage and it brings a smile to my face.  I cannot wait to see what the next five years hold in store for us!