There Once Was a Party Girl

My baby cousin {well he's 24 years old...} is visiting us from New York this week.
He graduated from college last year, and graduated from his first long term relationship. Right now, he's enjoying the single life. 


On the other side of the family, I was talking to J's cousin earlier.
She's 21, going into her last year of college, and newly realizing that being young and single is actually a pretty cool thing... that you don't have to be in a relationship all the time to be happy. 


Talking to these two, I was reminded {a little bit} of this girl I once knew, think about sometimes, but very seldom miss. {Not that either of them is like this girl... it's just that they are both young and single too}


I'm talking about: 

Now I'm not going to lie, she was a lot of fun.
If I'm not mistaken, 
on more than one occasion
and by several different circles
she was known to be the party animal of the group.

She wasn't afraid of banzai road trips to Las Vegas
Late nights and all nighters in Hollywood
usually diluted in countless cocktails.
She was usually followed by a cloud of smoke
and an attitude that reeked of 
a lack of care for the world.


She was over 21, working, living on her own, and nothing else mattered.
Birthdays, holidays, weekends... and heck, any given week night
were celebrated with a mix of Captain Morgan and Diet Coke {her beverage of choice on most occasions}


And then one day it all changed.
Suddenly everything spiraled out of control.
The life she worked so hard to keep up with
finally ran too quickly for her
and she simply 
spun.
out.


It took a while and some pretty drastic events and measures to get it all back under control. 
Slowly but surely, life started falling into place again. 
And she realized that family is really what matters. 
And life is not supposed to be a party. 
At least not all the time.
and that was more than absolutely okay. 


Five years later, here I am. 
I am happily and blissfully married.
I have, maybe, a glass of wine every so often. 
I was first to pass out asleep on my bachelorette party in Las Vegas last year. 
At 11:00 p.m.


I am a wife.
I am a mother. {Yes, of angels so far, but a mother no less}
I spend my evenings blogging, Facebooking,
Happiness these days is a warm glue gun in my hand.
Cooking with my husband,
Trying out new restaurants,
Cuddling up and watching movies with J,
Riding bikes around the neighborhood,
Giving out popsicles to the neighborhood kids {yes, I'm VERY popular with them}.
And while I no longer spend my nights partying,
I spend my everyday knowing this life is my kind of celebration.