It's my Birfday

I'm 26. It's a rather plain number I suppose, but, a good one I think. I feel like every year older I become, I am more credible in the minds of some who are older than me. I've always had older friends and now having a child at a young age, I have even more friends who are older then me because our children are similar in age. I think of the verse, "Do not let people look down on you because of your youth" all the time. I have to. I have a job that requires I direct people who are almost all older than me. There are many times that I have to be the "mature " one in situations. It's odd. I remember one of my mom's friends telling me when I was around 12 years old, "I want to be like you when I grow up" What does that mean exactly? I suppose I've always been "mature" for my age or something. So, I embrace being another year older because perhaps someday the age I seem will actually match the age I am.

Then there's the other side of the coin that I'm still asked if I'm a teenager on a semi-regular basis because of my appearance. This fall I introduced myself to a ref prior to a volleyball match and he reacted in shock. "I thought you were one of the varsity players helping the JV warm up!" Or when I went for an ultrasound and the man asked me if my mother would be accompanying me - assuming I was under 18. I try to see my youthful appearance as a good thing, and I guess when you're among high school girls wearing a volleyball jacket and jeans, it could be confusing. I was always sure I had a ring on my finger when I was pregnant. I bought a fake one a Target when my finger was too swollen for my real one. I knew one man already assumed I was an unwed teenage mother so I wanted to at least try to appear to be married and in my 20's!

Finally, it's still sinking in that I'm a mother! So, I think the older I get the more normal it will feel to me that I'm a mother. Having a baby at 24 felt a little crazy, but I'm thinking when I'm 30 I'll think, of course I'm a mother, I'm 30. Yeah, not sure if that's gonna happen, but I'd like to think at some point I'll actually get used to the fact I have a child. I still look at her sometimes and think, "You were really inside of me? I can't believe we did that!" It's a good thing you have the 9 months to prepare for a child, because it's still hard to believe it all happened sometimes, even a year later!

So, I'm 26 today. I'm a mother, I have a great job, a nice place to live, a beautiful child and a wonderful husband. I have a car I own, more than enough food to eat and plenty of clothes. I have lots of great friends and a community of people we're growing closer with and sharing our lives with. I'm very healthy, my family's healthy and we are greatly loved.
I'm 26 and I have so, so much to be thankful for.