feeling old

I am, for the most part, in a place of acceptance about the fact that I am 26 and have yet to buy a house, finish a bachelor's degree, or be married (much less have any children). Occasionally, however, the reality hits me & I feel like i'm way 'behind'. The week before I turned 24 I had an existential crisis because I hadn't met any of those self-imposed milestones and had always assumed I would have most definitely accomplished before I turned 24! Two years later, I didn't bat an eye at turning 26, and felt great about where I was, even though, on paper, I'm still in the 'same place' of not having accomplished those things and others that I was programmed, as a young LDS, Jane Austen-reading, Disney movie-watching lass, to expect of myself.

But this week it caught up to me again. I found a girl I used to babysit on Facebook. Her brother is serving a mission, her sister graduates high school this year, and she will graduate next year. I remember when she was BORN! And friends who have been married for 5 and 6 years are having babies, and buying houses, and then selling houses. So I had a bit of pity party today. ;)

And to top it all off, the almost-7 year-old who I've been watching most evenings this month, asked me "Did you grow up on Shirley Temple movies?"