35

I will be 35 in March. This startles me. Last night, thanks to two large glasses of Diet Pepsi, I was thinking about my age and station in life and realized that....

By the time my mother was 35 she had...
*Buried both of her parents.
*Been married for fifteen years.
*Had a miscarriage.
*Had a ten year old and a nine year old.
*Taught public school, taught Lamaze classes, and volunteered for everything.
*Lived in a "real" house, not a starter home.
*Seen both of her children go under for surgeries.
*Had a cancer biopsy of her own--thankfully, benign.


She had not...had braces. She got braces when she was almost 50. Her smile was always beautiful, but she smiles more freely now. I love looking at my wedding pictures, because she's wearing her braces, telling the world that there's always time.

By the time my mother's mother, my Grandma Neuhaus, was 35 she had...
*Married and divorced a creep.
*Had three sons.
*Lived in the mining town of Jerome, Arizona.
*Moved to Colorado and worked in a broom factory.
*Lived through the Depression and World War II
*Survived things that young girls should never have to survive.

But she had not...had my mother yet. My mother, the surprise daughter of her second marriage. My mother, the most lively of them all. My mother, the hugger, the doer, the prayer warrior, the goofball. Grandma Neuhaus had a daughter, a second chance at parenthood, a second chance to see the world, at the age of 42.

By the time I will be 35 I will be...
*Married for ten years
*A mother of two
*Living on the East Coast, a whole world away from my childhood Arizona home.
*Open to dancing and singing in public
*Making a difference in the lives of teenagers

But I will not...know what the future holds. I can't control it by worry, dread, or grumbling.

My best hope is to trust the story of my family. History shows that the future will be beautiful.

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In other news, remember, to ask me anything as fodder for future posts!