Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Women Of A Certain Age....

Now don't get me wrong here--I love my mom....but she, inarguably,has some pretty laughable run-ins. Those of you who have heard my "mom stories" are fairly familiar with her hilarit(ies). Some, of these many, "mom adventures" include: sending me a "happy birthday dad" card (SERIOUSLY!), walking away from a clearly beeping alarm system to engage in a long, luxurious walk(forcing TPD to almost knock down our door), and literally throwing a petulant, albeit hilarious fit at Olive Garden over an ill-planned order. Honestly, I cannot muse lengthily amongst the flaws in her past....because she undeniably gave her sometimes poor thought-processes to yours truly. Thats right guys...I undeniably inherited the "silly" gene of my mom. It's pretty pathetic seeing as we all SWORE at childhood we would NEVER be like our mothers....WRONG!!!
However, aside from all the crazy actions, the forgetfulness, and the unoorganized frustrations of my mother, lies another, more powerful side of her personality. My mother, sincerely, is one of the wisest women I have ever met. At 15, my mom began winning major respeck from me when she predicted the EXACT time-line of a poorly-timed pimple. I'll admit it...my mom won me over by the sage, yoda-like art-form of pimple-predicting. And I'm totally O.K. with that, because it was only then that I began to really realize the multiple ways I had understimated my mom throughout the years. Since the aforementioned, highly-signficant "pimple" incident, my mom shed light on so many serious issues for me. Seemingly, almost everything she told me from this point on was correct.
At 16, when I fell in love with a boy I was sure was my soul-mate....she wisely told me I would find someone else. At 22 years old, as I maintain a happy and healthy relationship with my TRUE love, I'm so glad that she was right. When, at 17, I didnt know if I had the strength to carry on, it was my mother's words, alone, that made me determined enough to finish high-school, and do some serious soul-searching. My mother always saw the strength in me that was so oft-overlooked by my sometimes ditzy outward appearance. To add, within my life-time, my mother has never been wrong about the intentions of a friend, or a boyfriend. I can't tell you how many times my mother could have said "I told you so," but passed on the verbal insult in place of a comforting hug. Though my mother, inarguably, has relayed so many thoughtful life-time lessons to me, perhaps her most beneficial quotes was the proverb: "with age comes wisdom." I am learning that lesson more and more everyday.
Perhaps I'm alone when I say that being in my 20' s has been the most enlightening "era" of my life. Admittedly, I think all of us can admit that we were just a wee-bit self-absorbed as teenagers. (C'mon....how long did we all take getting ready in the mornings??!! Or thinking about the VAST probabilities of pimples, boys, and cars??!!) I gotta know I'm not alone here. Haha. Yet, being in my twenties has concocted a completley new side of me, and , from what I can see, in all my friends. I'm amazed, when looking at my girl-friends, at how unbelievably driven, ambitious, respectful, and compassionate they all are. Frankly, I feel more than honored to have these girls in my life than they will probably ever know.
Though they would never "toot their own horns," so to speak, (who came UP with that ridiculously dorky PHRASE???!!??!!), I have truly noted some insanely amazing triumphs, and events in my friends, twenty-something lives. Their wisdoms and accomplishents have innumerably grown over the years, as they age. Within my college career, alone, I saw a friend graduate from Florida State with HONORS (after essentially working herself through school!!), a girlfriend gain entrance into one of the most difficult programs at Florida State (and still she made time for me every WEEK), a friend who moved to an entirely different country to start a new life for her career, a pal who picked me up from an empty parking lot, fed, and housed me...without REALLY knowing me, and a friend who, despite being younger than me, is wise beyond her years, and embraces life pretty dang fully (wearing her cool hats, scarves, and all ; )
So once again, my mother was right. Wisdom, and personal growth is something that blossoms as we get a bit older. As I think upon all the abovementioned accomplishments, and personal strenghts of all these amazing ladies, I have to reflect for a moment. A part of me wonders.....if this is only the events within our twenties...what is next to come??!! I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Signing off,
Eliz

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