June 18, 2021 – The twenty-first official Friday Night BeerBlog

It is so hard to believe that even though I am in my mid-thirties, my oldest child turned twenty-four years old this week. I mean, we could practically be twins, until I catch my reflection in the mirror and that witch says, “You’re 52 and don’t forget it.”

So many people say that they would never go back in time to relive any moment. They wouldn’t go back to high school or even college. But what about your twenties? Oh my God, I totally would. My twenties were jam packed from beginning to end. In the middle of the decade I closed out the first chapter of my life, GROWING UP; and was getting ready to start chapter two: FAMILY.

When I was 24 life was…confusing. I had already been married, divorced, and was engaged again (not to Mike). I thought I was happy. There was a lot of time dedicated to establishing myself in whatever it was that I was doing. I had good friends that I got into trouble with, much like in the show Friends. We hooked up with each other, much like in the show Friends.

Myge twenty-four was spent waiting for the rest of my life to start. I was sure that some miracle was going to turn me into a Baywatch babe by year 25. Everyday went like clockwork, which was actually pretty boring. My relationship wasn’t making me happy. Work wasn’t making me happy. Life was relatively good, but something was missing. Me. I was missing.

I hardened my heart and broke the engagement with a guy I had been with for two years, which in 20-something years is forever. My first marriage ending hadn’t been my idea, but this break up was and it was painful before, during, and after. I got a new job and moved into a townhouse that I totally couldn’t afford. It was truly the first time that I had lived alone without family or roommates.

I was on my own doing the best I could for myself and prepared for what was coming next. And that next turned out to be Mike and that now 24 year old of my own.

Mike’s life at 24 still had three semesters of college left to go. His path was different and as much of a mystery to him as mine was to me. And this is what we tell Ian. No one is expected to arrive at a specific place in life at a certain time or age. The map doesn’t work like that. Things just happen. Life unfolds at different speeds and at different times for everyone. And that doesn’t end in your twenties. It is always and forever that way. As I’ve said, you can’t predict the future – life has no crystal ball.

With Cate officially finishing college and COVID taking away security of any kind, my Chapter 3 has started. If chapter one was Growing Up and chapter two was Family – what is the title of the next chapter? I’m voting for MYSELF? All I know is that every day is a surprise. There is no REAL path of what you should do, feel, be. But life is precious and we must be thankful for it every day, while being totally ready for any new opportunities.

Happy summer and Happy Juneteenth to all.

LLM

Podcast version:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1594894/8727701