Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
~Chili Davis
It was a bunch of women sitting at a table talking about: babies....for about 5 hours.
Just a year ago we were all sitting at the same table talking about our significant others, plans for the future, and just gossiping.
In just a matter of a year, four babies later, and four more due to arrive, we have all grown up. Our priorities have shifted, our outings are limited and so are our cocktails.
Three (including me) of eight are not pregnant or have children.
Which is a new experience for me.
I don't have much biological family in USA so I never got to meet many of my "blood" cousins's offsprings and now suddenly all these babies creeped up on me. It's seeing beauty in a new light: cuteness in a 1 month old farting, a 1.5 year old always telling me no, or a 2 year old who kindly gives you an item placed on a chair so she can have a seat.
We've grown up.
Which is not a bad thing, I guess but at times I get nostalgic of the good times when time used to go by slower, money was never a problem and laughter was in abundance.
The three of us guesstimated that in next 5-8 years perhaps we'll contemplate having a child. Which then got me thinking, much of our generation obsesses with planning.
We plan trips, education, children, our whole freaking life but sometimes we need to add some spontaneity and break free from the rigidity. Its good to be prepared but not overly prepared. If things always go as planned, we won't know how to respond when they don't go in accordance to our timeline. We're at a stage where even the most natural gift women possess, childbirth, is now planned.
Much of my life has been planned and I must admit it's quite lackluster. The unknown frightens me. Not being able to control an aspect of my life just makes me nervous. If it wasn't for the unforeseen failures or life's pleasant (and not so pleasant) surprises, I wouldn't be able to say with confidence that I can react decently when a curveball gets thrown at me. Although I believe my whole world is crashing when I get thrown off course, I convince myself some good will come out of it.
Lesson Learned: We'll never be ready for the next step if we keep prepping and not move forward from this grand"plan". As much as we find successes in completing tasks according to plan, we should also be willing to accept new, unpremeditated challenges as the process of growing up.
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