quarter of a century reflections

So I turned twenty five yesterday.. Which is super weird because I kind of feel like I just stopped at 18. For some reason this year, this age, this milestone seems bigger than all the others (despite the obvious fact that IT IS lol) something about being 25 hits me in weird places & in a new way. It's a good feeling. One of both contentment with where I'm at & excitement for what's to come. I'm at peace. Like somehow now, I've finally made it. 25 is a good number. It's the perfect age. It's where everyone wishes they were or even pretends that they are, & I'm just going to take it all in & live it. I don't know how or why this year's magically any different than any other but I feel like it has something to do with the fact that the older I get the more I realize that I actually really don't know anything. Ha which seems kind of backwards but it's a good place to be. With wide eyes and an open mind I'm ready to take on life's challenges and make adventure out of them all. I'm realizing that in every situation I have a choice to make. I can choose joy, love, peace, adventure and that's what I'm aiming for instead of busy, stressed, and dissatisfied. I feel like I've lived a lot of my life waiting-- for this moment or that or wishing for something I didn't yet have. But there's something strangely sentimental about being a quarter of a century that both humbles & compels me to live so very much in the right now & see every single little thing for what it's worth, what it could be, and enjoy the heck out of it because this is my life & we've got one shot at this thing. & at the end of the day all that really matters is not what you get but what you make out of it. It's a precious gift given to me by The One who created life itself and I don't want to take a single second for granted. I'm alive and I'm free and I'm grateful. Here's to being twenty-five and my challenge to myself to be richly present in each moment, not wishing for anything else but embracing what is and taking it all in. Being Jesus to people, showing love, being bold, taking every opportunity, and appreciating every single little moment. Being a mommy and a wife, a daughter, sister, mentor, and friend. It's all so beautiful and I'm going to intentionally, purposefully, passionately pursue all these things whole-heartedly like it's what I was created for, because it is just that. Looking around and seeing all that I am, all that I have and carefully and soulfully taking each responsibility seriously enough while never missing an opportunity to laugh at myself I can trust and know and really live in the Truth that I was made for this.