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!
The random musings I manage to pull out of my slightly damaged mind. Also, humor may be involved.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Shirley Sunday 2013: The Abominable Meatloaf Returns!
Let me just say that this is an appropriate time for me to return to the blogging world. First reason is that a LOT of people have been asking me to start blogging again. Second reason is that they all want me to blog about Hurricane Shirley. And I have a LOT more material!
A lot of things have changed in the last few months for me, like moving to a new town (almost literally if you know me and where I live) and FINALLY getting disability for the mental disorders that had nearly crippled me from normal life! Unfortunately, even moving 45 minutes away from the parental units did not deter them from invading my life at regular intervals.
Our old house was a bungalow of shall we say intimate proportions. We were usually on top of each other...and not in the good way! Too small for long (overnight) visits from mom and dad. Now we live in a generous two-story. When we moved, mom decided to take a course at the local community college which has a satellite location in our town. She just HAD to take the course at our town's location. Every Friday. So every Thursday night without fail, we had an overnight visitor. Because apparently 45 minutes is too far to drive for her class in one day. Mind you, the woman makes multiple trips every week to locations far greater in distance than my house. After a while, dad started staying the night as well, because he works only seven minutes from our house. That's right, my mother refused to drive 45 minutes ONE day a week and my father has been doing it FIVE or SIX days a week for 40(!) years. Needless to say, while the hubbs was still working in our old town (driving 45 minutes TWICE a week) I would be sharing MY house with the two people I specifically moved away from for more independence. OK, so that's the backstory...now onto the meatloaf.
It was the hubbs birthday. He turned 31 on a Wednesday, and we had a barbecue planned for Saturday. We had planned to walk to a local eatery and celebrate quietly. Then mom called and informed us we need not eat, she was making her meatloaf- a (very) loose interpretation of my cousin's recipe. Now look, I love meatloaf, even being a person who doesn't really like red meat. What she made most closely resembled wet cat food in sight and texture. The taste wasn't terrible, but I couldn't get past the texture. I mean, who puts evaporated milk in meatloaf? The answer should be no one. Trust me.
I ate exactly 3 bites and declared myself full (of whatever I could snack on before). I knew the horrific meal that was going to be presented and warned the hubbs that we should at least snack so we didn't go hungry. He expected bad, but was not prepared. I'm pretty sure he'll trust me about what mom can and can't successfully cook from now on.
I am absolutely terrified because she has already talked about the recipe she wants to try for my birthday in a couple weeks...prepare the airsick bags!
You know though, on a serious note, I am very lucky. I was blessed with two moms. One who gave birth to me and one who was there from the beginning. My mom means well and she's a really nice lady with a lot of old-fashioned behaviors. I think I'll cut her a break today and just say "Happy Mother's Day to a mom who constantly keeps me on my toes." Oh, and thanks in advance for never making your meatloaf again!
Love and Laughter,
-Kat Lady
A lot of things have changed in the last few months for me, like moving to a new town (almost literally if you know me and where I live) and FINALLY getting disability for the mental disorders that had nearly crippled me from normal life! Unfortunately, even moving 45 minutes away from the parental units did not deter them from invading my life at regular intervals.
Our old house was a bungalow of shall we say intimate proportions. We were usually on top of each other...and not in the good way! Too small for long (overnight) visits from mom and dad. Now we live in a generous two-story. When we moved, mom decided to take a course at the local community college which has a satellite location in our town. She just HAD to take the course at our town's location. Every Friday. So every Thursday night without fail, we had an overnight visitor. Because apparently 45 minutes is too far to drive for her class in one day. Mind you, the woman makes multiple trips every week to locations far greater in distance than my house. After a while, dad started staying the night as well, because he works only seven minutes from our house. That's right, my mother refused to drive 45 minutes ONE day a week and my father has been doing it FIVE or SIX days a week for 40(!) years. Needless to say, while the hubbs was still working in our old town (driving 45 minutes TWICE a week) I would be sharing MY house with the two people I specifically moved away from for more independence. OK, so that's the backstory...now onto the meatloaf.
I ate exactly 3 bites and declared myself full (of whatever I could snack on before). I knew the horrific meal that was going to be presented and warned the hubbs that we should at least snack so we didn't go hungry. He expected bad, but was not prepared. I'm pretty sure he'll trust me about what mom can and can't successfully cook from now on.
I am absolutely terrified because she has already talked about the recipe she wants to try for my birthday in a couple weeks...prepare the airsick bags!
You know though, on a serious note, I am very lucky. I was blessed with two moms. One who gave birth to me and one who was there from the beginning. My mom means well and she's a really nice lady with a lot of old-fashioned behaviors. I think I'll cut her a break today and just say "Happy Mother's Day to a mom who constantly keeps me on my toes." Oh, and thanks in advance for never making your meatloaf again!
Love and Laughter,
-Kat Lady
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