40 !?!? Where Did Time Go?

Ok...I recently turned 39 ( a month and a half ago), but I am already thinking about my 40th birthday. I mentioned in a Facebook post that in my head I still feel like I am twenty five and that is totally true.

So it got me thinking though, when did I become a grown up?

I remember when I first started teaching I was considered one of the young ones. I was single, living in an apartment with two college friends, meeting all sorts of new people, and having a whole lot of twenty-something fun.

Now fast-forward fifteen years and in ten months I will be the big 4-0! Where did the time go?

Yes, I have a wedding ring on my finger, three kids, two dogs, a mortgage, car payments, and a laundry list of other responsibilities BBBBUUUUTTTT I am still that young girl who could take off at a moments notice but still needed her dad when she had a flat tire. Right???

Well yes and no. It is a lot harder for me to take off on a moment's notice now, but I still need my parents for lots of things (even if it is just moral support). This is how I think I have grown into becoming a grown up...my expectations have softened. Life does not need to be perfect (or even have the appearance to be perfect). I am more aware of all of my blessing and am grateful for each and every one. I still try to be a super woman and take care of others over myself (I'm still working on that one).

Birthdays have never been a big deal for me. This birthday I think will be a little different and in a good way. I look at 40 as not being over the hill, but maybe as a chance to not pass on new opportunities as they present themselves.

One way I will commemorate this milestone is by possibly getting a tattoo...maybe not a typical Denise thing, but fitting for the occasion.

Wondering what else could I do? What are some new resolutions for the next 40 years of my lie I could carry out?

12 Hugs a Day

A US family therapist, Virgina Satir, would often make the startling claim: "We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”

When I was in elementary school this was posted in my school's weekly newsletter. My mom read it and we instituted our twelve hug a day ritual. Everyday up until I entered middle school we set aside time each day (just a minute or two) to exchange 12 hugs.

As I watch my kids grow (way too fast for me personally) I have decided this will be our new family ritual. My way to connect in our over connected world.

What I have found is that the twelve hugs bring lots of laughter and often turns into group hugs. Also each child is a different type of hugger. Jake is a tackler. Be prepared to be knocked over when he gives you a hug. Katie is a bear hugger . She wants to wrap her arms around you and holds on tight for each and every hug. Maddie who is entering "tween"hood has become a side hugger who is almost embarrassed by it, but by the twelfth hug she is enjoying it as much as the rest of us.

So maybe twelve hugs a day can keep the doctor away and keep us connected a little more.