25
One of my favorite things to learn about people is how they pictured their current life when they were younger. It fascinates me to hear peoples dreams and expectations and how they think their life is in comparison to those.
As we all know, I am a hugeee daydreamer. When I was young, I thought teenagers with braces were THE COOLEST kinds of girls. When I was in 7th grade, I was ready to be 25. I was ready for independence and adult decisions (haha).
On the morn of my 25th birthday, Zach asked me if this is where I thought I would be when I was 25. YES, JACKPOT, GOLDEN QUESTION TO ASK A GIRL LIKE ME.
I didn't have a complex answer really at all. This is where I thought I would be (mostly).
I pictured a 25 year old living in a huge cool city (Des Moines is growing!) and working a glamorous job in a pencil skirt (no job is glamorous, mine is actually quite interesting and fun, and thank GOODNESS they did away with the business dress code-jeans every day all the time).
I figured I would be traveling everywhere with no plans of settling down (it turns out, that traveling everywhere with your husband is way better) and would come home to an amazing feminine apartment that I lived in alone and used the 2nd bedroom as a spare closet for my growing shoe collection (I love sharing our apartment, I actually really like Zach's masculine things, and we DO use our spare bedroom as a closet - which btw, no one in a big city has an empty bedroom, silly teenage Emily-AND while I am buying better longer lasting shoes, I am actually simplifying most of my clothes altogether).
I am not sure that a teenager (or myself at least) can picture or daydream about the depth of everyday life that is possible at 25.
My family has always been very supportive of whatever I wanted to do. My newfound family are incredible welcomers. My friends are AMAZING. Any of my friends and my community that have walked through the last 7 years alongside me are amazing and have taught me so many things about myself, about the world, about how selfish I can be, and about what's actually important. They are the best group of celebrators that I could have imagined, and everything we do together is so. worthwhile. I knew I would always run after good relationships with like-minded friends. But it's amazing what that actually means.
Zach, is an incredible husband and the most fascinating human being I have met. I figured I would get married when I was 30. haha, it was the perfect number in my head. But, the last 4 years of growing together has been wild and impossible to imagine as a 15 year old. Without getting into a valentine's day card kind of paragraph, I am far better off with Zach than without him (take that, naive Emily)!
The truth about myself, about the reason why the world works as it does was truly unimaginable to me when I was daydreaming about the future. The only reason that I have peace to make it through the day is from my relationship with God through Jesus. What the Lord has given me has made me truly free. And I am the most humbled and grateful for it on my 25th birthday.
I haven't woken up with a giddy birthday feeling since maybe high school, but I think like most, it's a good day to reflect and take notice of where things are and how things look in my life.
Thank you all dearly for the gifts, the treats, the texts, the calls, and all of the kind words.
My life is so rich. I couldn't have imagined it.
From Pleasant St.
-Emily
