Tuesday, July 06, 2010

birthday!

Today I am 28 years old.

I was thinking this morning about where I was 10 years ago today. I was waking up at camp, in Saskatchewan, beside the lovely miss jillian sue and feeling very forlorn about turning 18.

I had just graduated from high school and was feeling intensely sad about being ‘grown up’ and completely unsure about what was next.

I had no idea really. I was considering art school or an early childhood education program. But due to my procrastinating attitude and my lack of ambition to achieve anything higher than a 65% in grade 12, it was looking pretty bleak.

Long term plans at that point? Mostly I thought that I would be married with a few kids by the time I was 24. HA!

What ended up happening was quite different and exciting and full of fun and wonder.

I took a year off and decided that maybe what I would like to do is become a nurse. I ended up having to go back to high school and take a few new sciences and redo a few of those classes I truly think to this day that I was mercy passed through. My average went from a 60% to a 90%.

After that year in back in high school, I decided to come back East. I had grown up near Toronto and somehow felt the East was calling me back. Little did I know that this would eventually become my new home.

Skip ahead 10 years. Here I am.

I am now a Registered Nurse. It took me 5 years instead of 4 (apparently I like a good victory lap in my education), but here I am, I have worked on a Mother-Baby Unit, a Surgery and Medicine Unit and now I am working with a Family Health Team.

I am a Wife. I have been married to the lovely Thom for 4 years (on Thursday we will celebrate this anniversary).

I am a Mother. Well I am mother to a little 1 pound womb baby. She will be born in October.

While those things did not occur by the time I was 24 (well I guess I did get married then, but the kids would be a few years away), there have been many other things that I didn’t think about when I was 18.

I forgot that university takes up some time, and that it can take a while to find the right man.

I also was able to become part of an amazing Church family. Many of the friends I made in first year university are still my very good friends today.

I love my life. While it has turned out to be different than I may have imagined it (really who wants the life they imagined for themselves at 18?). It is a wonderful life indeed.

So Happy Birthday to me and Happy Birthday to all those who share this day.

3 comments:

The Noisy Plume said...

HAPPY HAPPY!!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Catherine et Nathanaƫl said...

I am so glad you love your life!! happy birthday Kate ;) Keep enjoying life and life to the full.

Melissa said...

Dear Kate,
If I have learned one thing over the past year, it's that every single birthday is a gift.
:)
Happy Birthday to you!
Love,
Melissa