Growing Pains

My birthday is coming up in roughly 6 weeks.

I will be 25.

Where did the time go?


I'm slapped in the face with this realization almost every day. I can't believe how fast that time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was studying the drivers manual for my written permit test. Not 10 years. I was so excited! I couldn't wait to drive. It was a sense of freedom, control, and all around coolness. I craved every minute of it, and even wanted to be older. Can you believe it? I WANTED to be older. 
Think about it. We were never just "12"...........we were always "12 and a 1/2". Or "I'll be 13 in just 8 months!". Never satisfied.


At 12 I wanted to be 13 because then I would be a "teenager".
At 13 I wanted to be 15 because I could get my driving permit.
At 15 I wanted to be 16 so I could drive by myself.
At 16 I wanted to be 18 so I could be counted as an adult.
At 18 I wanted to be 20 so I wouldn't be a "teenager" anymore.

GAH!!!! When do you stop? When do you stop wishing your life away?

For me, I think it stopped about the time I turned 21. Of course, I got married that year and everything was going fine. I felt as though I had reached a point in my life where everything was just so great, I wanted time to slow down, but it didn't. It sped up.
I swear, I don't know where the last 4 years have gone. I only blinked once......maybe twice.....and here it is again. My birthday.

Now, please don't misunderstand me. I am eternally grateful to God for giving me another year. And I will celebrate this birthday just like I have celebrated every other birthday. Because I really do enjoy them.
I guess I'm just being overly sentimental today.
See, when I ponder my life, I also ponder many things that have happened in my lifetime. I wonder about choices that I've made, people that I've met, pets that I had......... And as a matter of fact, today my horse passed away due to lung problems. I hadn't gone for a ride in years, but I'll still miss going out and talking to her at the fence.
I have had many pets in my lifetime and they've all died before I could truly appreciate them. And why? Because I was too busy wanting to be older. I just pray that I never let that happen with the people that I love.

I talked to a friend of mine today, also. I've known her for almost 10 years, and she was Maid of Honor at my wedding. Basically, we decided to "see other people". Not saying that we're not still friends, but we're just not on the same page with our lives right now.
This made me sad too, even though we both agreed that it shouldn't make either one of us feel bad over our decision. If you have to try to come up with things to talk about, chances are you've outgrown each other, and eventually, it's just too tiring for the both of you. So, you agree to see each other every 6 months or so and discuss your lives over a cup of hot chocolate and move on. What else can you do?
Because, time does go on, and people do change. I'm not the same as I was 5 years ago......shoot....I'm not the same as I was 1 year ago. Truth be told, I'm glad because I'm pretty sure my husband and I couldn't live together if we were both the same as we were 8 years ago when we met.

After 25 years, though, I think it's mostly safe to say I'm starting to settle in to who I am.

A person that likes her life.
Likes spending Saturday night at home with her husband watching British television and eating ice cream.
Likes how on special occasions they drink Welch's grape juice out of stemmed glasses.
Likes the fact that she's so close to her family, both physically and emotionally.
Likes the way she can talk about herself in the third person.........

OK, maybe not that last one. But it is fun sometimes. In reality I will always be a kid at heart. Here I was wishing to be older, but I never completely grew up. And maybe, you're never supposed to, completely. If you can't have some fun once in a while, this life can get pretty tiring. Although, a young woman told me once "You are not a typical 23 year old. You're just weird! Who wants to stay home on weekends? Who doesn't drink? Who doesn't live with their boyfriend before getting married?"
Me. I guess that's what makes me weird. But as I've said before, I like being weird.

So if you're young and reading this blog, please take advice from me. You may not know me personally, but I wished my life away and never took time to enjoy where I was at. Don't do that. Enjoy being whatever age you are right now, because time moves so quickly it won't be long until you're grown. And you can't go back. Ever.

As for me, I'm going to enjoy the rest of 24. I don't know what will happen these next few weeks before my birthday, or even the weeks to follow, but I want to make every second count. I want to be happy and praise God for all of his blessings on me and my family. I want to spend lazy days with Dan and cook suppers for mom and dad, joke with Russ and Skyla and play with Madysen just as much as possible. Yep. I want to enjoy who I've become. No more taking time for granted, and no more wishing my life away. Each day is a gift, and it's time I started appreciating it.

Just a bit.....

.....of miscellaneous info. This way you can get to know me, if you don't already.

I'm Nikki O'Callaghan and I have a hard time describing myself. Believe it or not, I'm not that good with words, and am a terrible speller. So much so, in fact, that I'm still reveling in the wonder of how I spelled "miscellaneous" all the way through the first time with no mistakes! Gold star for me!

OK, so now we know I'm an awful speller, most of the time I'm grammatically incorrect, and I have a hard time making sentences.........so why am I writing a blog?
I'm not really sure what it is. I guess the strong desire to vent the ideas that are constantly roaming around in my head. As for myself, I love reading blogs and finding out cool stuff about people that I didn't know, or a recipe that sounds good, or reading about their travels to other places.........so, I feel like if one person can get some enjoyment out of MY craziness, I'm good.

I was homeschooled for all 12 grades and loved every minute of it! I am a strong homeschool advocate, and have no problems promoting homeschooling to friends, family and even complete strangers. I am thankful to God every day that my parents had the foresight to pull me out of public school.  I don't feel as though I missed a thing. I had a prom, a graduation ceremony, and a class ring. I was in plays, music concerts, choir concerts. We had field trips......everything a public school kid has, and a whole lot more. I won't get in to a whole lot of details right now, but I do plan on doing a post about homeschooling in the near future.

I've been married now for almost 4 years to my best friend. Dan and I met in 2004, we started dating in 2005, got engaged in 2007, and married in 2008. Our story is a very interesting one, and someday, I will most likely tell you the tail. It includes mistaken identity, music, heartbreak, reconciliation (Woo! Another gold star!), and talk of far away travels. I know you won't want to miss that.

My wonderful parents, brother and sister-in-law, nieces and nephew and grandmothers keep my life pretty busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love helping my family! Sometimes do so much for them, my husband tells me I'm putting myself on the back burner, but I can't help it. I've always been that way.
I was born 17.5 years after my brother, and we are the only two children. It's been different, but we know God had a plan by sending me so much later than my brother. It has become obvious in the past few years, when mom was diagnosed with Chondrosarcoma cancer and had to have her right arm removed.  She does so great on so many things, but there are still times when she needs assistance. So, enter me. Dan and I live right across the street from mom and dad, and whilst some people tell me they can't understand how I can live so close, I have no problems. You will be gradually introduced to some of these crazy and wonderfully lovable characters in the near future as well.

That's pretty much all I'll get in to right now, because after all, this is just an introduction, and I don't want to overstay my welcome. I hope that in the future we will be good friends, as I welcome you into my life, and hope that you find it as amusing and lovable as I do.

Until next time,

Nikki