May I Return....To The Beginning?

Kate has deemed that because she is following my blog, regular updates are now required. And let's face it, she has the True Blood. Her every wish is my command.

My life continues to be a whirlwind. So many things have happened since my last post: new apartment, new roommate, 5 shows, 2 visits to Chicago, 1 trip to New York, a sick cat, a bum leg, about 15 lbs. lost and/or gained, a drastic hair change, lots of friends gained, one seemingly lost.....Oh, and I even had time to buy some fabulous shoes for a good cause. I have become acutely aware of Ferris's thought that "Life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Not missed so much, but certainly not savored nearly enough. Where did life go?

Yesterday, Cat and I were buying matching comforters for our dorm. Donya was screaming out the car window at Morgan Hall for me to "ditch class and get my hot little butt in the car" to go to happy hour at Jalapenos. The lovely Indian man was selling us non-swirly ice cream at the Key Store in Hull. I was stuffing my car with boxes and starting a life in Princeton. Re-stuffing my car and waving goodbye to the East Coast without a plan for what came next. Meeting my beautiful, amazing children at Rise for the first time.

Without warning, it's three years later. Two classes have moved on and the third will do the same in barely two weeks. Friends have moved on--or I have--and new ones are ever so craftily weaving themselves into the story that is our lives. A niece has been born and steals my heart over and over again with every hilarious story or adorable ginger smile. A much loved grandmother was lost after struggling too long in a body that betrayed the vibrant person we knew and loved. A nephew has grown from baby to toddler to little boy, following our family tradition and taking his first tread onto the boards this summer. I myself have grown, in ways too vast to describe. I've stumbled too, as we often do.

That, I suppose, is the nature of life. Things happen to us, around us, for us.....and as we adapt to them, or don't our lives are shaped. It's not always graceful or comfortable but we survive it, we cherish it, we grow through it. We live.

"When is your birthday?"

This is how the conversation started, innocently enough. But after years of chasing youngsters, I should've known better. I should've read the subtext, looked past the lead, and seen where this line of questioning was going.

Which was here:

R: (twirling an errant piece of my hair as we watch Oklahoma) "Molly, when is your birthday?"

Me: "January 3rd"

R: "And HOW old were you?"

Me: "25"

R: "Is that after 24?"

Me: (finally catching on, starts to fidget) "Well, yes."

R: "hmmmm........Don't you have a baby YET?!"

Me: "..............."

R: "Cause, Molly, you're 25. And that's like, almost a hundred."

I: (in her characteristic Etta James gruff) "Yeah....it IS pretty old."

R: "You should definitely get married.....you know, so that you can get a baby. And besides, your glasses are super cute AND you have the best hair."


Um, right. It's always good to have your life put into perspective by a five and six year old. They really should team up with Cars and Con, who are under the impression that I am "ready to get married" because I "am honest and have good judgment."


At least SK is on my side in all this. Her commentary on the end of Oklahoma.....
"Why does Laurie have to marry that Gurly boy? Why can't she and Annie just be cowboys too?"

Well said, Sassy. Well said.