11 Days Until Christmas...

It's eleven days until Christmas and the dread of another holiday rolling around has escaped me this year. Maybe it's because I'm getting married next year so I feel like there are so many adventures ahead of me. Turning 30 next year seems to most like the end to youth, the day you stare at yourself in the mirror and accept that you're not a kid anymore.

But the truth is...I'm never going to do that and have seriously promised myself to always be a kid at heart. I'm always going to crack jokes and act silly. I'm never going to stop going on swings at the park or doing crazy dances when a song comes on. And when I have a family of my own, we're going to do Conga lines throughout the entire house and regularly have game nights.

My mom said a great thing a couple of weeks ago that has somehow stuck with me. She said, "If you live, you get old." She was referring mostly to wrinkles and the changes our bodies go through but instead of viewing this in a dark light, I see it as a gift.

To know that I have five more continents to visit,

Millions of landscapes and sunsets to get lost in,

Anniversaries to celebrate with my husband-to-be,

Years of Christmases to spend with my family and one day my children,

Hours of dancing and singing at the top of my lungs when no one is around,

Billions of words just waiting for me to discover in books,

Hugs from my mother and father to be embraced in,

Lots of songs and music to write...

This fuels me and shows me that I've just begun to live.