Life Stages

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine. We've known each other for several years and she helped me through a rough time, even if she wasn't as loyal at the time as I would have liked. But we got past all that and she's a good friend, even if we now live in two different cities and don't really see each other. We keep up with each other via Facebook and MySpace and occasional phone calls. It wasn't so much the content of the conversation, but the conversation itself that started me thinking.

I am at the point between life stages.

I'm not in college anymore, even though I'm finishing up my grad degree. (Technically I should be writing my final paper now as it's due Monday. But, I have the weekend for that.)

That said, I'm also not working. I start in a month. Almost to the day actually. I start unofficial training Aug 16, official training/prep time Aug 18th, and the kids come Aug 25th. Until then, I'm a grad student and housewife, which I must say is quite the position to get used to! Not the student part...I've been doing that for 5 years. The housewife part has been an adjustment...not that I didn't clean and launder when hubby and I lived together before, but now that he's working, it's only fair that I do all (or at least most) of the household stuff. And I don't mind it...it's actually a nice routine...but sometimes I wish for something a bit more productive. I just hope my hubby was listening when I told him that this is all going to change when I start teaching! Ok, not ALL of it, but it's definitely going to be more of a team effort on the home front.

I'm married, and it's wonderful, but (unlike quite a few couples our age) we don't have any kids other than the pups and (also unlike quite a few couples our age) we won't for 4-5 years. Aside from my health reasons, we want to make sure we're financially set (not ready...I've been told you're never ready lol) before we bring a little one into the world. I'm looking forward to it being just me and my hubby for awhile yet ;-). That said, it's making it hard to find a church-home where there is a group of people our age at our place in life. So many babies! Lol. But being married is the best experience and adventure I've ever had, and I've had some adventures!

And as for what prompted this blog, I feel like I'm in-between groups of friends as well. Not that I ever really did well with "groups" of friends--my one attempt at it led to a disaster. And it's not that I don't have friends, and good ones, right now. There's my hubby, my two best friends, and our couple friend (as in, two friends that are a couple). A lot of my hubby's coworkers who are also our friends are filtering back into the area, but they're all going to be working. I guess I'm just waiting to fill in our circle of friends with people of my acquaintance--again with the theme of being in-between.

On that note, it's just interesting how the people that make up your life shift and change...and how they don't. Of my college friends, many have drifted away, either through moving or just growing apart. I hope life is treating them well. One, through their unrepentant betrayal, is no longer a friend. A few have remained good friends despite the distance and the growing. Even fewer became lifelong friends, that neither distance nor time can take away. It's funny though, through all the interconnections in life I still hear about all of them from time to time, and even from most of them. And of course, family is always there...and mine just got bigger! It's nice to be able to keep in touch with the people from your past...even if it sometimes leads to a melancholy blog like this one when one reflects on precisely where one is in life right now.

Well, melancholy isn't really the right word. Pensive would be a good substitute. I don't feel melancholy at all...quite the opposite in fact! Life is wonderful...I'm cuddling with my puppies, the kitchen is clean, my schoolwork (except the aforementioned paper) is done, my wonderful hubby will be home soon, and we're going to try to go see The Dark Knight this weekend. And even if I'm in between stages now, the world keeps turning and soon enough I'll find myself flung into the next stage. So, I'll enjoy the in between time while it lasts and use it to prepare for the next stage of my life!

Anyways, I was just thinking.