I find the aging process to be somewhat of a privilege. In my early twenties, I used to dread my birthday. Another year meant that I was becoming an adult. Wanting to stay the ripe age of 19 forever. It wasn’t until I had to attend the local cancer hospital every single day that a realisation hit me. Not everybody gets to hit their milestone birthdays. From that very moment I decided that I would embrace every single birthday. Be grateful that I have another year under my belt. For some reason turning 26 has just hit me a little different to every other birthday.
Turning 26 really did fill me with worry. Even in the build-up to my birthday, I was just super nervous about it. I can remember feeling a similar way last year. At the time, I was a newlywed and a new homeowner, I was riding high. So my birthday seemed to take a little bit of a backstep. I guess the thing that really hit me for the first time this year is that I really am a fully-fledged adult. Things are only going to get harder and more serious from this point on.
I had some people round at my house the other week and something just hit me like a tonne of bricks. We had just a small get-together before my birthday to celebrate me turning 26. I had some family and a couple of our friends there. It just made me realise that this was my life. My wonderful husband by side. Owned my dream home. Had my ideal car on my driveway. Plus, the love I have for the children in my life is wonderful. Then I realised that it probably wouldn’t be all that long before I start to think about my own family. I think just the sudden realisation of all of that sent me of into a spiral and I began panicking.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t heavily breathing into a brown paper bag or anything like that, but it just made me feel so grown up. I feel like I grew very quickly. Done were the days of clubbing and staying out all night. A crazy night may happen still every now and again. I had found myself settled into an incredibly domesticated life. I absolutely do not miss the old days of going out all night long and tottering around in skyscraper heels and getting blisters on my feet and horrendous hangovers, but I just cannot remember when I got to be so grown up.
As I said, growing older is a privilege that few too many people do not get the privilege of and I know that I am in such a fortunate situation to be at this point in my life where I am incredibly content with every single aspect of my work, social and personal life. 26 for me, just seems to be such a hurdle for me and I have to sit and wonder what the next few years of my life will have in store for me. I will do another post this time next year. I will let you know if I am stressing out about turning 27!
There you have it, my round-up of turning 26. Make sure to leave me a comment down below. Let me know if you ever reached a pivotal moment in your life. One where you realise that you are an adult!