(*sings*) The Circle of Life

Friends, as some of you may know, I turned 21 yesterday and I am over the moon about it, but also have a really weird, kind of sad feeling about it. I spent the last 3 months in Scotland, so the whole buying alcohol thing wasn't new, but it does make me feel different being able to legally buy it in the States now. In my mind it is like the cut off of youth. They say at 18 you become and adult, but at 21 I feel much more adult than I did at 18, and being able to purchase alcohol makes me feel as if the innocence of childhood is really over. That where the sad comes in; the end of my youth and the beginning of adulthood is a bit scary: I will soon be finished with school and have to step out into the real world, I will need to be more independent than ever, I will (maybe) have a real job, there will be bills to pay, rent to owe, the list goes on and on. With this scary also comes excitement though if I look at in a different light: I will finally get to venture out into the real world, a point I have been gearing up for the whole first 20 something years of my life, I am lucky enough to have parents who love and support me and will be there to guide me into an independent life, I will get to pursue my dream career, I will be lucky enough to have insurance, a roof over my head, a car and so on that require bills. So friends if I look for the silver lining, 21 is scary but also igniting the fire in my heart to do big things with the life God has granted me!
In addition to the above silver lining, over the last year there has been another silver development that occurred to me right before my 21st. Throughout the last year or so I have become pretty close with my dad's mom, my Grandma Stone. Now, if you were to tell anyone on his side of the family, or even family friends, 3 years ago that the two of us would be best friends come 2013 they would have laughed hysterically. I must say, while in Scotland she was one of the people I missed most and most wanted to see upon arriving home. There was something about her that made her so much cooler than everyone else.
Well, on Christmas Eve as we were sitting at dinner I finally put my finger on it, she has so much wisdom. She has the kind that only comes with old age, but in that old age it is also like she has that same amazing innocence that most people only see in children; its like life comes full circle at her age. She just knows so much about life and how to live it, but she is also a piece of history and lived through things that I can only read about. Listening to her talk about the good ol' days (WWII and the Great Depression) and see a spark ignite in her when she gets to tell the stories of her youth is invigorating. It gives me hope that someday I will get to do the same with my grandkids.
In her old age, Grandma has also become a bit of a smart a%$! She loves to joke around like never before, but she can also get away with not using a filter and even ignoring people when she feels like it. Along with this, her imagination has become quite sharp! She gets to be so innocent and it is so much fun.
So although I feel as if my childlike innocence and youth are gone, I am choosing to look forward to the wisdom I get to continue gaining as I grow older and eventually coming full circle right back to the innocence I feel as if I have lost with my new age. Thanks for showing me that Grandma!