27 AND PROUD!!!Today I'm 27! It's not customary for my generation to be pleased with getting older, but I'm totally excited to face another year for growing and changing. When I was a child I couldn't wait until I could wear nylons and shave my legs. Then I was excited to drive and date. Soon I was awaiting graduation and college. Then I looked forward to a mission. Once home from my mission I prepared to marry Edwin. Now I'm 27 with two little girls, staying at home, and supporting Edwin emotionally while he strives to reach his dreams. What can a happy woman possibly be looking forward to reaching in the years ahead? Freedom!
One of the things I like best about getting older are the liberties and freedoms I allow myself. I'm not talking about freedom from tyranny or anything that oppressive, but rather freedom from trends and social pressures. The freedom to go to the grocery store confidently without wearing make-up. The freedom to embrace simplicity and not be apologetic because it doesn't fit the social norms. The freedom to be me and the wisdom to realize that who I am IS ENOUGH!
I still feel young, but I am grateful the era in life were I was blindly grasping to find myself has come to an end. I have now entered the era to EMBRACE myself and my family.
Edwin's love and my desire to be a GREAT mom by being a better ME have helped me to let go of the pressures I often feel from my own peer group. I know I still have a long way to go before I am completely okay to be me, but I'm well on my way. My birthday is a day to celebrate where I've been and where I'm going. The future is looking good!
Now I know why my mother loves the poem, When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple by Jenny Joseph.
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
6 comments:
Happy Birthday Jen!
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy birthday Jen! The poem is really cute, and I love your comments.
Jennifer you are such a great person. Happy Birthday! I am so glad to have a wonderful sister-in-law like you. You are such a fun person and I am glad that I have your example. You are a great mom and I appreciate your example in that, and hope to be a great mom too one day, hopefully soon! Thanks for letting us come and crash with you in Texas. It was a lot of fun, and I am glad that I had the chance to get to know you a little better. Love you! Love, Leonora
I know exactly what you mean!
Jennifer, I am so glad you are Happy! I'm grateful that you have become courageous enough to let the 'expectations' go by the wayside and enjoy the moment of living in the now. It took me 50 years to realize that my expectations were blocking out the joy of daily living. I'm glad your journey to fulfillment has been shorter than mine and that your courage is strengthend in you by the love you feel for your family.
And you were such a cute baby too!
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