Ten Years Makes All the Difference: Age 21 vs Age 31

As I approach birthday 31 this coming June 2nd, I have been contemplating how much my life and myself in general are different from when I was a new adult at 21. So far I have come up with several comparisons, and I'm gonna share them with you. Feel free to add more in the comments!

Bedtime

At 21 I was easily able to stay up for long periods of time. I was always afraid I might "miss" something while I slept. When I finally slept, it was for long periods of time.

At 31 I know what I am missing. Sleep! No longer feeling the need to be available 24/7, I have become a creature of habit. I sleep at least 8 hours a night, thanks to some very nice pills. I am on a schedule.  At the same time, the schedule when I sleep varies from evening to morning thanks to the hubbs night working schedule.

Responsibilities

While I was married and had three or four cats back then, I really had nothing you could call a responsibility. I was sedentary and introverted.

Now, I have appointments, and Crochet Thursdays, and a car, and a yard to keep up. I don't have kids, but I do take the cat for a nightly walk. I have financial responsibilities that must be kept up with and I have to do it all and remain balanced mentally and physically. And I've grown up enough to accept that this is the way it is. It still SUCKS! lol

Body

I wish I could go back to the days of running around, and dancing painlessly around the bonfire. I could drink and not be feeling it the next day. My body was overweight, but actively working. I could sit around all day watching TV and sucking down Pepsi. No side effects but weight gain. Unfortunately I was very uncomfortable with my body.

Today I tend to overuse the Ibuprofen and have to be careful so I don't re-injure myself like I did a short while ago. Ironically I decided this year to try and get healthier and feel better. I quit soda. I started riding the exercise bike. I walk A LOT. And  my body is telling me I am betraying it...so it rebels. And I have learned to accept I am not going to be that lady to who lost 100 lbs. I'm a big girl, and I just want to be a HEALTHY big girl. And I am ok with it.

Friendships

We had a large group of friends and acquaintances in our early 20s. Our house was the house you went to when you wanted to hang out, eat good, and see your friends. The group was diverse and from many different places in society. It was all about having a good time.

We've tended to drift away from the "good times" friends and into more deep friendships. We basically have one circle of family-like friends, and a small group of confidantes, and a large amount of acquaintances we see occasionally. It's more about quality than quantity now. We still like to have fun, we just aren't desperate for it.\

Marriage

We had been married just over a month at my 21st birthday. It was still awkward, we had NO money, and lived in a tiny apartment. It was a very tumultuous first year, and my mom still hated Mike. I had to get used to doing something I had no prior training on, and that was awkward at first as well.

We just had our tenth anniversary April 26, and things have definitely improved. We live in a spacious house, can actually afford things, and we can have conversations just by looks. Mom has warmed up to Mike and they have their own dynamic now. And our intimate life? The sex has gotten better. Way better. Most of all we love each other more than the day we married.

What major changes did you experience in the years between 21 and 31? Leave a comment!