Pages

Monday, May 28, 2012

I remember when.... A glimpse of my past, and a hope for my children.

When I wore a dress that looked like a "wedding" dress to my senior Prom.
does buying it at David's Bridal mean that it was in fact a wedding dress? ;)
When I went with my two best friends to France for two weeks.... just because.

And no one told me it would be in the 50's in July there. So? I resorted to black pants... all the time.

Graduation day. A picture that encompasses the people I spent all of my days in high school with.

When my husband dressed up as Bristol Palin for halloween. And me as a .... pirate hooker?
And then, I, the pirate hooker, tried to deliver my husband, Bristol Palin's baby.
In true republican fashion.
I remember being a blonde.
for approximately 3 days

I remember my 21st birthday.. when my best friends went out to the bars with me with their fake ID's.
And we spent it in Louisville.

I remember when my husband grew a stupid ridiculous beard
And that time I tried, or did, bite my husband's butt cheeks in Qudoba.

Oh and the time that I found my home. My real home.

The time I went out to dinner and drank a whole bottle of wine. By myself. 30 minutes later, we took this picture.
and 10 minutes later... I was puking...

The time we took our bedroom door off in our apartment to play a game... a game of ping ball.
The time I went to NYC with my two best friends and had a tab of over a couple thousand dollars? Who knows. We didn't pay.
And when I went on Spring Break with a bunch of girls I barely knew {except one}.

I remember how in love I was with the self timer function.
And our trip to Vegas... which I will never forget.
And every May... going to the Derby
And how our dog, was "our baby"
And finally. The day. The day we got engaged... the day our new lives would soon begin.
I remember all these great times I had in college. Times with my best friends. Times with my husband {then boyfriend}. I remember living life carefree. No worry in the world {except making sure I make it to class at least once a week}. Life was fun. Life was full of pictures. Life was full of lots of smiles, and laughs, and memories that I would never want to take back. Ever.

I want my children to see these pictures. To see how important it is to make sure you live your young life the right way. I want that for them. To experience their youth. To have their time.

When I watch shows like 16 and pregnant. I think of all these pictures {plus some}. I think of all the college times and all the memories. And it saddens me. To think. That there are young women out there that will never get to experience their youth. Ever.

So to my children. Work hard in school. Be determined. Driven. Find your passion.

But also?

Be young. Live life. And never regret.


Having a family, having children is the most rewarding thing in life. I wouldn't go back to college for one second if I got a chance. But? I had that chance. And I lived it while I had it. And now? I'm at the greatest point in my life.

You'll be there.

But for now?

Be young. Be you. Be happy.

17 comments:

  1. I concur with Danielle, well said!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! You are incredible! What an amazing post.

    Pretty much adore you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very well put!! I think 16 and pregnant should be taken off the air. It's horrible how they portray this pregnant teen thing as being a way to "get in the spotlight" and ohhh you get your own show. I've seen the show and few times, and I've seen that they do show the ugly and hard side of being pregnant so young, but I just don't like it.

    Thanks for this post! Loved all of the pictures. The look on your face in that picture of you looking at your engagement ring is priceless. Love!!

    -Kristen

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this post! So much fun seeing pics from life before Elli:) It's always fun to look back at the college days but you are definitely living the best days of your life right now:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think this is a great post. I teach middle school health, and maybe I will put together something like this for my students to see when we talk about teen pregnancy. So many of them don't get it. And unfortunately they go the high school with the highest rates of teen pregnancy in our state :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOVE this post! You are so right....everyone should be able to experience "youth" life and college life. I'm pretty sure you and I would have been bff's (more like, double trouble). ;) I still like to "let loose," no shame. :)

    Oh and, here in the South, we call it Beer Pong. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this Beck...it truly makes me love your pirate hooker ass even more!!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. GREAT post! I often wonder, (well, when I can get myself to admit that Morgan WILL in fact grow up one day) how we can instill this exact message in her before then? I worry she will announce at 18 that she's not going to college and moving in with some loser boyfriend. I think you have the right approach. I plan to use that, paint a horrid picture of what her life might be like if she goes astray, and then just plain forbid it ; ) Cuz that'll work, right??

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think the same thing when watching these shows. Jer always says how do we make sure Olivia follows in our shoes, we show her by example. You get what you want in life by working hard and when you are young and have no responsibilities you should have fun! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. amen. while i want my child to BEHAVE and BE GOOD, i also want her to have the fun i had. Well, almost all the fun i had ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Totally agree with you on this one! Except maybe I will wait to show SOME of mine until they're like...21 lol I was deff a party gal

    ReplyDelete
  12. You totally look like Elizabeth Hasselbeck in the blond picture. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete