And when we woke up Monday morning, Daniel said to me - "Gosh. I can't believe we've only been married two years. It feels a lot more like seven years, at least!" And you know what? I couldn't agree more! And we don't mean this in a bad way - it just feels like we've been through ALOT in the last two years - enough stuff that it should be equivalent to at least 7 years of marriage. I feel like we've both aged 7 years (note the salt and pepper hair we are both sporting now vs. our wedding photos from April 2009). And so I've made the executive decision that we should measure our marriage in modified dog years from now on. Each calendar year will equal 3.5 marriage years - therefore, we have been married 7 years. And next year, we will have been married 10.5 years. Makes sense to me, how 'bout you? : )
Oh, and I also had a birthday last week. I turned the big 2-8. I don't stress about birthdays or getting older in the least - mainly because I feel like I should be 30 by now. Why? I have no idea. I think it has a a lot to do with my former life in Public Relations. I moved up the corporate ladder relatively quickly - managing a team of 20 people by the age of 24 (the majority of whom were older than me by 5-10 years). I guess during that time I felt I needed to be perceived as older than I was - you know, a more "respectable" age so people wouldn't try to walk all over me. And while I've left that lifestyle in the past, my mindset must still be catching up to an extent. I never lied about my age back then - but I didn't openly discuss it either. Graduation dates, birth years, etc. were purposely never discussed. Strange to think about now - but at the time, I felt it was 100% necessary. There was a lot of "dog and pony shows" in those days. I'm SO much happier living as a mama - Paige doesn't care how old I am, as long as I give her big hugs and kisses everyday. And fill up her sippy cup when empty. Anyway... I digress : )
So when someone asks me my age, I always want to say "30" and have to think for a second and then answer with the truth - 28. So until I actually turn 30, I kind of feel like these years are bonus years for me. But I wonder how I'll feel when I actually TURN 30. And what about when I turn 31? 32? Maybe in the years after 30, my mind will stay stuck on the 30 mark and I'll end up being one of those women who celebrate their 10th 30th birthday when they turn 40 : )