Why I Love Being a Twenty-Something Mom

Borrowed from Firstcovers.com

At 19 years old most people are in their first year of college. Some choose to travel, and some dive head first into the working world. I was attending OB-GYN appointments and comparing the size of a fetus to fruits and veggies.

While I chose to do things the hard way, I've come to find out there are some aspects of being a young mom that are pretty frickin' awesome.

Strangers assuming you're the cool, older sister. It's happened more than a few times, and it's the greatest compliment ever. No, you don't correct them. You smile and remember that even though you may act like an 80 year old and go to bed at 9 pm, you still got it.

People congratulating you for succeeding. For some reason people, especially extended family members, seem to think you're setting yourself up for failure when you have a baby in your early twenties. You get praised for doing basic things that are expected of everyone else in their adult life.  Yes, Things are shitty at times, but yes, I have a job, it pays well and we eat TYVM!

Bragging about your success. Being humble is great, but when you're expected to fail nothing tastes better than talking about your new promotion, with a 2 year old, at 22. You'll have people who spent 3 years in college and are making just over minimum wage confused as hell about how you did it. 

Not having to Google cray cray.  Still being young enough to appreciate stupid things young people say and understanding references is awesome. My mom thought I'd lost it when I would yell Wasssuuuuupppppp with my tongue hanging out. I had to explain it, and trust me, watching Scary Movie with your mom is embarrassing. Then again, when an almost-5-year-old yells GTFO and points at her door, you find yourself praying she doesn't actually know what it means.

Hop on Pop. Doing cool, active activities like living room acrobatics is fun. Wondering if you're going to break a hip is not. Instead, I get to do couch gymnastics with a hangover! Yay me!

Listening to the whispers. While I'm a firm believer in not giving a fuck what other people think, it's fun sometimes to listen in about yourself. "She had her when she was 17 and never finished school." "I heard she climbs the ladder under the desk." "She's so young. How can she possibly raise a child?!" Don't take it in. Laugh at it. Success fuels jealousy. Plus, the lies are hilarious sometimes!

More time with the brats. I'm going to get all serious here. You've seen the inspirational quote on Pinterest, but it's true. We all know our time is limited with our families so being younger when you have children may mean some bumps in the road, but we just get more years with our babies. 

Freedom-Fourties. Yes I'm counting on this! This is the whole reason I'm done having kids at 25. Don't get me wrong, I love them to pieces, but the idea of spending 2-3 decades chasing around mini humans, and then being tormented by teens isn't appealing to me. If it is to you, can you call me and maybe it will rub off a bit? I love the idea of being able to hang out with my kids as adults while I'm still young enough to participate in what they're into. They'll still think I'm old and lame like anyone else's parents, but I'll know I'm awesome.

There's a good chance I'll still be kicking long enough for great grandchildren. I never met my great grandparents as they were gone before I was born. I love seeing grandparents get a chance to have the grandparent experience all over again. I just can't wait until I can shovel someone else's kid full of chocolate and then send them home. And people say I don't think before I act!