Labels

We all come with labels. People are authors, accountants, book nerds, adrenaline junkies, Moms, Dads, sisters. For a long time, my labels were simple: I was a wife and a mother. Those days are so long gone now that they are turning into fuzzy memories. I’ve been re-labeled over the past few years and now I can say that I am still:

1. a Mom. He’s in the Army Reserve and has gone through so much and has come out on the other side a wonderful human.

2. a writer. I still plug away at it when I can. I’m not a best-selling author, but I still love creating a world on paper.

3. a bookworm. All I can hope for is that there’s a huge library in heaven.

4. a yarn nerd. That’s an itch that will always be scratched with the help of acrylic.

I can say that I am not:

1. a student. Those days are thankfully behind me although I loved most of it.

2. living like a student. Although, I’m still not too far from it right now.

3. a wife. I’m still not sure what that means. I guess the joy of life is figuring that out as I go along.

4. without a home. I have a great little place and I can spread out and I have bookcases and yarn and cool wooden floors.

I can say that I am now:

1. a teacher. That has given me more thrills than I can count. Even though I hate what public education has turned into and how it’s viewed, I love my job. I love my school. I love my students. I love the feeling of going into the new week with a fresh start. I love the fact that I can smile most days and make most people smile with me.

2. a college graduate. The first one in my immediate family. That gives me a lot of pride and the plus side is that it’ll never be taken away.

3. a girlfriend. That’s such a weird name for a 43-year-old. But whatever. I love him and he loves me and it’s just a label. I’m more concerned with what it represents. 🙂

4. an Episcopalian. That’s just so amusing to me. But I like that label. It fits everything that I am.

5.  a human. That sounds like it really should go without saying, but don’t you some days NOT feel human? Like you are just floating through life and are disconnected from things? It’s nice to be grounded and it doesn’t take much to get that way.

All that to say I’m thankful. This past year has brought about quite a few changes for me – some good, some bad, but turned out good, some I want to always remember, some I want to forget. Such is life. And it’s a pretty good one right now.