What Age Would You Be?

Ree over at The Pioneer Woman has a contest today regarding what age would you be forever if you could choose.  This got me thinking.

Initially I picked 8.  I had a great childhood, I was fortunate being the youngest to parents who by the time I had arrived were established and a father who provided well for his family.  I wasn't spoiled at 8, but I didn't want.  Not that I ever did, let's make that very clear, my parents were very generous to me.  But at 8 things were still fun, I had great friends, a phenomenal imagination, and great experiences every day.  We spent weekends up north and most of the summer, winters consisted of snowmobiling and summers were spent by the river, swimming and fishing.  We made forts and hiked through the woods.  Got chased by cows, skipped rocks, chased fireflies it was great.  But would I want to be 8 forever?  Not in today's world.  It's different, the 70's and early 80's were more innocent, at least in my world.

We will skip through middle school and high school because frankly those years sucked.

Early 20's!  Those were fun.  I worked full time from the age of 19, still living under my parents roof I had money to burn.  I had a sports car, went on tropical vacations every few months, partied with my friends but was still responsible.  Early 20's were a blast.  But would I want to be 22 forever?  Probably not.  I might have been responsible but I made plenty of mistakes and not ones I would want to relive.

Late 20's. There was a mixture of fun and sadness, I actually moved out of my parents house finally, bought a house and got married.  It was exciting but nerve racking and a bit scary.  I lost my Mom, which was brutal.  But we were able to spend those last few weeks together and I am grateful.  I grew up alot that year.  I was able to prioritize things more, money wasn't the only important thing.

30, I had Alex.  Again exciting but nerve racking and scary in a whole new way.  But it was exciting and wondrous and I wouldn't trade even those sleepless nights for anything. 

32, I had Rachel.  I never thought I could love 2 little people so much.  Having kids blows me away.  It takes everything out of you but is worth every second of it.

Mid 30's.  Kind of flew by with 2 little ones running around.  But they were good years.  I think I became more settled in my mid-30's.  Maybe I was finally maturing.  Yeah right.

Late 30's.  Kind of the same as mid-30's now that I think about it.  Still working on that maturity thing.

40, the year is not over, I am sure I am learning and growing from all of the experiences that I've had so far.  Losing my Dad has easily been the hardest thing I've ever been through.  It's hard to put into words what the first half of this year has been like.  I'm hoping the second half improves.

As you can see I didn't really pick an age.  It was hard, I don't actually think that I can.  There are highlights and low lights through each period, but with each year I change. grow, learn, appreciate, and live a little more.  I guess we'll see what 41 brings and go from there.