Guest Blog- Alyssa

Dear Monster,

   You have grown up so much since Miss Alyssa last saw you! We're planning a zoo day for you and her little monster, Jonah, so you can show your little selves off!
~~~

When I asked Alyssa to guest blog I requested that she think back through her life and find some "If I knew then what I know now..." scenarios and to discuss with us what "being an adult" and "growing up" meant to her. She is a young woman with a LOT going on in her day to day life that is so very different from my own. I thought it would be interesting to see what life and growing up meant to someone who has a completely different perspective than myself...So, without further ado, Miss Alyssa from over at In The Land Of Lou:

Hey! I’m Alyssa. I’m Chad’s wife and Jonah’s mom. He’s 10 months old and the greatest, most fun thing I’ve got going on. He’s got the chubbiest cheeks and the most amazing eyes. I may be young and I definitely don’t have it all figured out, but that’s the beauty of life…you can learn as you do. :) Miss Courtney is a dear friend of mine and I was honored that she asked me to do a guest post. I was happy to lend my fingers (as I was typing this instead of writing it, it would have been much catchier to say “pen”) to her series on life, growing up, and being an adult. I hope you enjoy it and the awesome blog you’re at, Mommy and Monster!!

1. If I knew then what I know now, I’d enjoy every moment of high school. They WERE good times.
2. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have been more careful about who I kissed.
3. If I knew then what I know now, I’d tell my parents I appreciate them more when I was growing up. Now that I’m grown and have kids of my own, I feel like I still can’t tell them enough.
4. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have dated my husband longer. No, I don’t regret getting married soon, but dating was so fun and flirty, it’s hard to continue that.
5. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have journaled during my pregnancy and Jonah’s earlier baby days more. There are so many precious memories that I can’t remember and it drives me crazy!
6. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have enjoyed my first pregnancy more. I’ll never have that much time to nap, eat whatever pops into my head, and be lazy-as-heck again.
7. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have taken more pictures of my son as a newborn. It was a really rough time for me and I remember so little of it.
8. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have kept my journals from when I was a little girl. I got rid of them because I was ashamed of them and regret being able to be inside the mind of my younger self.
9. If I knew then what I know now, I’d make myself think twice before doing ANYTHING. I thought I was smart but MAN was I dumb.
10. If I knew then what I know now, I’d not drop out of high school and decide not to go to college for a stupid boy.

Man, growing up is tough. It’s hard from age 0 all the way up to whenever you die. It never gets any easier. It doesn’t get easier when you start picking your own clothes. It doesn’t get any easier when you can dictate how late you stay out at night. There are so many times that I wish I could go back to being 10 years old, living in my parents’ house, having them cook my meals, and pay my bills. Man, those were the days. What’s that saying? The grass may be greener on the other side, but it still needs mowed? Yep, so true.

But there’s a certain satisfaction that comes from having survived a whole day of taking care of a baby, cleaning, baking, cooking, running errands, and paying bills all by yourself. It is hard, but it feels good. I think it really hit me that I was grown up when I brought home our son. I wasn’t quite 20 years old, married, a mom, owned a house, had a dog and two cats. I kept saying, “Who gave me this tiny human to take care of and WHAT were they thinking??” But what hit me even harder than realizing that I was an adult, was that being adult doesn’t really mean anything in particular. It means you can vote (if you care about politics), it means you get to pay taxes (yahoo), and fill out a census. It doesn’t mean that you rely on your parents any less, that you shouldn’t stay away from sugary snacks right before bed, and that talking to strangers is any less dangerous. Being “grown-up” is just like being a balder, grayer, more smelly version of your previously young self.

Moral of the story???

1. Don’t wish your childhood or your children’s childhood away. It already goes by way too fast.
2. Appreciate your family. You never know when they will suddenly be gone, by choice or not.
3. You have two ears and one mouth. You should use one of these things twice as much as you use the other. (Got this one from my Grandpa.)
4. Write everything down. Take millions of pictures. Because when decades have flown by and your friends and family have grown up and/or moved away, they’re all you’ll have.
5. Life is short. Make it count. Don’t waste time on petty fights or pointless pleasures.

Alyssa