June 17, 2022 – The Seventieth Official Friday Night BeerBlog

Today is my oldest child’s 25th birthday. Ian is 25 today. I may have to say that over and over a few times for it to sink in. There is something about that number for me. 25. It’s not necessarily that way for other people, but for me, there was always something about that number or something about being that age that felt so official, so grown-up. And I had serious expectations of myself when turning 25.

My Own 25 Year Old Expectations

I seriously remember in the couple years leading up to my 25th birthday that I expected certain things to happen. Number one, I was looking forward to be taken seriously at work. As in, she’s 25 today, yesterday she didn’t, but today she absolutely knows what the hell she is talking about and we should listen to her. I wouldn’t say that they started to listen to me – more like tolerated all of my opinions.

But for real the number two expectation I had was that I would suddenly be visited by the late bloomer puberty fairy and grow a set of boobs and hips to rival Pamela Anderson on Baywatch. I was convinced that if I just waited patiently and wished for it, it would happen. And if it hadn’t happened by 25 then, heaven forbid, it and many other things, might not happen at all. When the big birthday came and went and everything remained the same, my lack of chest size was soul-crushing.

How It Actually Turned Out

I’d love to go back and give that imaginative, flat-chested 25 year old a hug. What a babe she was. She had already lived a lifetime of disappointment and self-discovery and had been given a million reasons to quit on life. But she had brushed herself off and continued onward and to dream like it was nothing. Getting knocked down and effortlessly getting back up was her forte. Little did she know that soon she would start dating the love of her life, be at the start of a 30 year career in educational film and television, and raise two amazing children – the oldest of which turns 25 himself today.

Her life was already well behind her as well as expanding outward in front of her in ways she couldn’t imagine. So what if those little booby expectations hadn’t come to pass. It was only the real things in life that were going to define everything that was going to happen in years ahead of her. Not even she could have imagined how wonderful her life would turn out.

Not My Dream, But Better

We all have that little dream of a thing that we wish for in our lives. I was going to be a mix of Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg. And it didn’t happen exactly like that, but in a way, sorta. I have pieces of my dream weaved throughout my life. And it’s not until you stop and look back that you can see it so clearly. Like you’ve looked at it a million times and suddenly there it is and it’s so obvious.

That’s the thing about turning 25. We have so many useless expectations of what our life should be or who we should be. Like we need to hurry up and get to the next level so that we can move on to the next. But I tell you dear reader or listener, and I’m sure you know this, that life isn’t a race. At 25, so many things are going to change on a daily basis. Some expected, some not. But all arriving exactly when they are supposed to in the order that they are meant to happen.

A Birthday Message To Ian

And so now to Ian, my darling boy on his 25th birthday. Thank you for being my forever boyfriend. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You made my life complete until Cate showed up and then it was even more complete.

When I turned 25, I had no idea that you were coming or what you would bring into my life. And now that YOU are 25, I can’t imagine what my life would have been without all of the love and blessings that you brought with you into my world.

Remember to not get bogged down with any kind of expectations that you may have for yourself or feel that someone else may have. Your life is wide open in front of you. It can be absolutely anything you want it to be. All I know is that this world is lucky to have you in it. You have a special purpose and gifts to share and I can’t wait to see what this life has in mind for you.

LLM

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