This is 32

When you’re young, you dream big dreams. You make plans. You draw out maps. You sketch a future filled with fame and fortune. You marry royalty. You live in a castle in a far away land, and you live happily ever after.

Then you grow up and you don’t. Somewhere along the way, you took a detour. You made a wrong turn, and went down the wrong street. Now, you live in a one family home in the middle of nowhere. Your horse-drawn carriage is a SUV. You don’t have handmaidens and servants, you are the servant. You are also, the bookkeeper, the cook, the waitress, the seamstress, and the nanny.

This is my life.

I am middle class.

I am the daughter of a coal miner who married the son of a logger.

I work everyday, Monday thru Friday, and sometimes Saturday.

We eat Spaghetti on Tuesdays and Tacos on Thursdays.

Every morning at 4 am I wake to the sound of the pitter, patter of little feet or the shouts of “Mommy, I wet the bed!”

I tickle tummies and kiss toes.

My children jump on the bed.

I read great, big, books like Goodnight moon and The Cat in the Hat.

I only watch critically acclaimed television shows like Spongebob Square Pants and Bubble Guppies.

I fantasize about getting pedicures, taking naps, and ~~Magic Mike~~.

We go barefoot in the summer.

I still like to hold the son of a logger’s hand.

We hold each other close.

We laugh a LOT,

And, cry a little.

Today, on my 32nd birthday, I can not believe this is my life. This is not what I wanted for myself. This is not my dream. My life at 32…is so much better!