The Girl of Yesterday and of Today

If I could talk to my teenage self,  I would love to tell the girl of yesterday – everything is going to be all right.

I saw somewhere recently a statement about how the girl from yesterday would feel about the girl of today. The statement was about the person who was doing the writing. This made me think about my girl of yesterday.  My birthday is coming up and I can't believe I'm going to be 42 in a few days. I don't feel 42, but what does 42 suppose to feel like? I like to think I still look as if I'm in my early thirties but I know the more I see small lines in my face and that one stubborn gray hair that keeps growing back, I am beginning to look my age; and I'm okay with that.

When I think back on my childhood, I would never have dreamed that I would be in my forties. Hearing about  the Lord's second coming and all the things that would have to take place, I was extremely sure I would never grow up and be married with a family all my own. I even prayed what some would consider selfish prayers in asking the Lord to wait so I could experience a husband and family.

When I think about the girl from yesterday I know she would be happy with how she turned out. That girl fulfilled her dream by being a wife and mother.

When I think back to those years, I remember how women were considered odd or feminists if they pursued dreams and goals and didn't settle down with a family. This was the teaching of a strict fundamental church. Things began to change when  Bill Clinton came to office for it was his wife; a new breed of woman who showed that women were more than just a housewife and not an unequal.  Don't get me wrong, I would never condone the things this woman stands for. Her feminist teaching  is right up there at the top of the list and over the last few years she has proven to be a true enemy of our country.

Many of the girls I went to school with are stay at home moms and they would not change it for the world. Some pursued college degrees and hung those degrees up to be at home.There are a few, who are now working towards their dreams and goals but they waited  later to pursue them.

When I was a senior in high school, I knew I would go to college and earn a degree in education; I wanted to be a teacher. It was not a dream of mine, but something I knew I could do until I had my own family. I always said, I would never home school my children after being home schooled my junior and senior years. To this day, I honestly feel that was a bad decision for my sister and I, but it is what it is and it is in the past. I always thought my future children would attend a Christian school. It's a good thing I went for a teaching degree, because we never would have been able to afford the tuition for the two years Jamie attended. He was able to be at the school with me and we were able to see each other at different times during the day.

If the girl of today could talk with the girl of yesterday, she would tell her if there is something you want to do; do it. Don't wait and think that you'll do it later because more than likely you will not. Don't settle for less when it comes to school and with a job. Don't allow anyone to make you feel you are not suppose to better yourself. Learn all you can about anything you want. Knowledge is valuable!

Today's girl would also tell, there is nothing dishonorable about being a stay at home mother. You will find love and enjoyment educating your son at home. You will find contentment making your house a home and safe haven for your husband and son. Don't let society make you feel less of a woman because you dream of being a wife and mother because in reality, you can not have both a family and a career without one suffering and more times than not the family will suffer.