1, 5, 10, 20

1, 5, 10, or 20 years, future Hannah, please remember to always let your awkwardness shine

I should probably be doing this post closer to the end of the school year, but I think I'm just going to be a hot mess of emotions then so why not do it now? It seems like since we were in 6th grade, at one point or another, we have to fill out a little worksheet of some sort that asks, "Where do you see yourself in a year from now? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?"

One of my favorite bloggers ever, Bonnie, did a little post based on this infamous question. I loved that she was able to do a comparison of what she thought, and how it actually panned out. So one day I hope I can reference this post and do something similar :)

ONE YEAR

In one year, I'll be close to finishing my first year of college! (Oh and in case you were wondering, I finally decided where I will be off to next fall, but all you suckers are going to have to wait because that is going to get one heck of a special post!) I hope that I really love school but something deep down inside of me tells me that it's going to be the next best chapter I could have ever pictured. I will have made new friends, but will stay in touch my best friends through various ways. I really really really hope by then I will have had some actual interaction with boys because this girl can't be the president of the VLC forever.

FIVE YEARS

In five years, I will have finished undergrad! I hope to have studied abroad, somewhere in Europe specifcally. Maybe the Cork Islands or London or Glasgow!! I will be a first year medical student, where, I do not know. I will know that medicine, however, is my calling. There is no greater satisfaction than helping someone. I figure I will have had a boyfriend or two and have gotten to be as much of a relationship expert as a 23-year old can be. I will have my own little house or apartment- something small but quaint. Maybe I'll have a roommate that I can watch The Office and Grey's Anatomy with, or maybe I'll have a little wiener dog and my cat Jack (assuming he's still alive). I will have gone on fun little trips with friends (NYC and Chicago to name a few). OH! And I will have run a marathon! You better believe a 26.2 sticker is on the back of my car! I'm not sure where I'll live, but wherever it is- Colorado or Washington or who knows! I'll make wherever I am home, that is for sure.

TEN YEARS

In ten years, I will be married. I will have finally found the guy that swept me off my feet and made all those years as single lady worth it. I can imagine that most of my friends will have gotten married as well, so I will become an expert wedding guest. My husband and I will live in a cozy little home with white walls and dark floors full of pictures, and a chalkboard wall in my seafoam green kitchen. I imagine myself as a new mom, with one child... for now that is. Either Charlie Marvin or Ella Margaret will have my heart and given me the miracle of motherhood. I will have graduated from medical school, something I have always wanted to do. Dr. Hannah, healer of the hearts of the littles. I have no idea how I will balance motherhood and medicine, but that's something I will feel out as the time comes. For now, I dream of happy days.

TWENTY YEARS

I picture a life of laughter, spontaneity, and volume! I will be close to my 40s and happily married to my man. I picture a house full of footsteps and laughter and yes, some messes. I imagine that my days of having children will be close to over, and I will have six littles- Ella, Piper, Charlie, Charlotte, Mia, and Samson. While my life is loud and not always in my control, I will have grown to live by the motto, "Come what may and love it". I will live in my dream house, which is big enough for our large family but not overwhelmingly massive. I live for those warm Sunday mornings with all the sunlight flooding inside the house, as my husband and I are up early making breakfast and listening to old soul crooners, like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. My kids will know every lyric to ABBA songs and our days will end on the trampoline, as we have a family dance party. And as a mother, that is all I could wish for. Now, my MD days are still continuing, as I work at a fantastic practice where my hours are flexible and I can enjoy being a mom and a doctor. We are lucky enough to go on fun family vacations to Disney World and Hawaii, and are waiting until our youngest is six to go to Europe. It's not perfect- broken bones, broken hearts, and broken vases aren't out of the ordinary, but my life is ever more colorful and joyful then I could have ever pictured!

And now, I must wait. Who knows what will happen? But I know I can't wait for it all. I'll take in each moment for what it is, and savor it. Plus, if this all happened at once, I think I'd have a stomachache from all that sweetness! Here's to time and the future!

And to quote The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants...
                "Time is what keeps things from happening all at once."

xo
Hannah