Twenty-Six

I told someone I was 26 the other day. She’s probably still laughing now.

Funny how perspective shifts. Back when I was 18 and telling people I was 26 they laughed for an entirely different reason. And when I was actually 26 I swore I was 21 instead. I recently celebrated my 37th birthday and I’m finally admitting to my actual age. Not just because people laugh when I tell them I’m 26, either, but because for the first time in my life I’m content with my age. So it’s funny how the Daily Prompt for today wanted me to ruminate upon the number 26, an age that seems an eternity ago. Here are some facts about me at 26:

* I got married in a 5-minute civil ceremony at City Hall, wearing jeans and a t-shirt
* I flew overseas for the first time, taking off for Ireland right after the wedding
* I graduated with my undergraduate degree in English, and I have pictures to prove it
* I started my first blog over on blogger.com, and I called it “Ruminations by Mr. M”
* I had my first major surgery in the hopes of being able to father children

Wow, I hadn’t realized how many significant things happened that year until I really thought about it just now. But it was indeed a good year, a year of firsts, and a year of excitement. In some vague way I knew I was on the downward side of my 20s, but I didn’t really change much that year. I remember at the airport in Boston I kept looking at my passport. It was weird being 26, being a legitimate adult, not just an early-20something, but an honest-to-goodness adult. It was humbling really.

Looking back, though, it was a legitimate in-between time. I got married that year, but we wouldn’t have our first child until nearly three years later. I had my degree, but I wouldn’t have my first teaching job until nearly two years later. My first blog fizzled after about 20 posts, not for lack of inspiration but because I just stopped writing it. Life happened, and I wasn’t up for actually writing about it back then.

Yes, 26 was a good year, but 37 is going to be better.

Sam