When I was in my 20s…

by Michelle Lasley

Michelle Lasley is a mother, wife in Pacific Northwest learning to balance green dreams with budget realities.

June 13, 2010

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Categories: Family

I love being in my 30s. It feels like I’ve finally matured. People always told me I was “mature for my age”, but this is different. I feel like I’m finally learning the lessons I was given years ago. Often, I find myself saying things like, “When I was in my 20s…” and then insert whatever it was in my 20s that I did or believed and juxtapose that with my current beliefs. My current beliefs are shaded with the family, mother, wife lens. In my 20s, my perspective was from the single, liberal, must-change-the-world lens.

When I was in my 20s, I believed that fences shouldn’t be allowed. Now that I am in my 30s with a 3-year old, I crave nothing more than an enclosed, fenced yard, where Levi can “run free.”

When I was in my 20s, I smoked cigarettes. Now that I am in my 30s, I lost the taste of the habit (actually 5 years ago) and would rather set a good example for my son.

When I was in my 20s, I experimented with a vegetarian diet. Now that I am in my 30s, I embrace my love of meat but try to find the most equitable, environmentally friendly option my budget can afford.

When I was in my 20s, I hopped from job to job, getting bored easily, looking for something or some place that better embraced my talents. Now that I am in my 30s, I have been “unemployed”. I am now a Stay-At-Home-Mom who still tries to find something or some place that will embrace my talents. The biggest thing that has changed here is the desire to hop is gone. The desire to hop has been replaced with a desire to cultivate relationships.

When I was in my 20s, I began to experience death. Now that I am in my 30s, I am finding ways to make peace with that death and use those experiences to make me a better person.

Ultimately though – when I was in my 20s, I made a lot of mistakes. Now that I am in my 30s, I feel like I am really trying to learn from those mistakes and apply those lessons to everyday life. I sometimes drank too much or drove too fast. I’m “over” those phases, and have resolved to moderation. I still miss cigarettes, but I don’t like being addicted. So, that’s a habit that will just be missed. I’m trying to calm down and continue to find balance. That means, not only in my everyday interactions, but also with my moods. I try to embrace the phrase This too shall pass because it means both the good and bad will pass. It reminds me to enjoy the moments we have because, as death teaches us, those moments don’t last.

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