26

I turned twenty six this past weekend. Twenty six. That's closer to thirty than to twenty. It makes me freak out slightly. There are so many things I thought I would have done by the time I turned twenty six. (Successful?) marriage. A baby. A degree. Who knows what else. When you're twenty six, you're supposed to be an adult, aren't you? I always thought so. My mom was twenty six when she had me.

But nope. I'm working as a nanny, no children of my own, no husband anymore (thank heavens), back to having a boyfriend (which seems to be a huge leap forward in lots of ways, but in a few ways also sounds like a step backward. Such a good step though, in whatever direction.) No degree because the thought of going back to school freaks me out (though I do acknowledge that I need to go back, it's just a matter of when and for what).

But my life is good. On this day, at this age, with this hair and these thoughts, I like myself. I am proud of myself (mostly). I sometimes mess up, but I do a lot of good things too. Hopefully the good evens out the bad.

I'm gonna leave this with a quote from Doctor Who, because it's a good quote, and because if you don't watch Doctor Who, maybe you should (if you can just roll your eyes and laugh at the cheesy bits, that is).

The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant.

The eleventh doctor said that, in one of my favorite episodes, at the end when I always tear up. Life is absolutely a pile of good and bad, and I just hope I live my life in a way that adds good things to the piles belonging to those around me, like so many of you do for me. My life is a pile of so many good things, and I am so grateful for that.

Here is to a new year, new bad things, but more importantly, more good things. Hooray!