In my ward (church congregation) there are a lot of young families, I mean A Lot. I think there are over 200 kids in our ward. Church services are a bit noisy, but you get used to it. I mean, Mormons are known for getting married young and having lots of kids. That is where Danny and I don't exactly fit the mold in this neighborhood.
The other day I went visiting teaching and found myself talking to two other young moms. We talked about child birth and sleepless nights. One of the moms has three young kids. The other has a little toddler. The one girl asked the other with 3 kids how old she was. She responded 26. The girl with the toddler said, "I'm 25, I feel so behind!" Then she asked me how old I was, "31," I said with a smile. They didn't really say much to that and continued the conversation.
Can I just say in that moment how happy I was that I didn't feel panicked or felt like I was "behind". Let me make it clear, I have nothing but respect for these two women. They are great moms and becoming new found friends. So I mean this by no means in comparison to their lives and choices. Just in that moment I felt really grateful for my life. Grateful that I received a college education and went on a mission. Grateful I've had a bit of a career (which side note, I quit a couple of weeks ago). Grateful I found Danny when I did. Even though the few years of wanting a baby and it not happening as soon as I would have liked, I'm grateful for that time too. Danny and I really grew together going through that and we had a lot of fun in the mean time. Now, I'm so grateful for my sweet little baby boy and this new adventure of motherhood. Everyone's life plan is different and too often for me, it is in hindsight that I see goodness in my own. In the present, it is too easy to slip in complain-y mode about little things. However, being the month of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to say, I'm grateful.
Side note: I fell in the trend of completing my own states map. Danny told me he was sick of seeing them on Facebook, so I posted mine here. My next new state to visit is Oregon. I need to see my dear friend Brittany in Portland and then travel along the Oregon coast, because I hear it is amazing
Create Your Own Visited States Map
The other day I went visiting teaching and found myself talking to two other young moms. We talked about child birth and sleepless nights. One of the moms has three young kids. The other has a little toddler. The one girl asked the other with 3 kids how old she was. She responded 26. The girl with the toddler said, "I'm 25, I feel so behind!" Then she asked me how old I was, "31," I said with a smile. They didn't really say much to that and continued the conversation.
Can I just say in that moment how happy I was that I didn't feel panicked or felt like I was "behind". Let me make it clear, I have nothing but respect for these two women. They are great moms and becoming new found friends. So I mean this by no means in comparison to their lives and choices. Just in that moment I felt really grateful for my life. Grateful that I received a college education and went on a mission. Grateful I've had a bit of a career (which side note, I quit a couple of weeks ago). Grateful I found Danny when I did. Even though the few years of wanting a baby and it not happening as soon as I would have liked, I'm grateful for that time too. Danny and I really grew together going through that and we had a lot of fun in the mean time. Now, I'm so grateful for my sweet little baby boy and this new adventure of motherhood. Everyone's life plan is different and too often for me, it is in hindsight that I see goodness in my own. In the present, it is too easy to slip in complain-y mode about little things. However, being the month of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to say, I'm grateful.
Side note: I fell in the trend of completing my own states map. Danny told me he was sick of seeing them on Facebook, so I posted mine here. My next new state to visit is Oregon. I need to see my dear friend Brittany in Portland and then travel along the Oregon coast, because I hear it is amazing
If only everyone could have such a great perspective, to be grateful for the life they themselves have, and not feel the need to compare themselves to others. I'm grateful you're grateful.
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