Call it a midlife crisis of sorts, but when Mom mentioned that Dad would be retiring in 5 years, and she hopes that by then, my brothers and I would hold stable jobs and hopefully have our own families, I panicked. 5 years to some, may seem an eternity, but if you've noticed, 1 year passes pretty rapidly. In the blink of an eye, 2006 gave way to 2007, and it only felt like yesterday that the new term had started for me, but I am now in the third week of school. So 5 years isn't that long a time.
When Melissa and I met for lunch today, I told her what Mom said and that kind of pushed the panic buttons, and there we were sitting at Spageddies reflecting on life gone by, and imagining us 5 years from now gathering at our aunt's place on Chinese New Year, each with a kid of our own in tow. That very image brought on the heebie jeebies (In Melissa's words: "Please Tracy, don't make me puke. I just had lunch"). I mean, geez, I'm not even ready for the working world, let alone being someone else's mom. In 5 years, the both of us would be 28, and that is pretty old. Yet I still feel like I'm stuck at 18. Ya know, I'm not ready to grow old, get married, and start a family.
It's scary how life can just pass you by when you least expect it. Sometimes it's as if you're standing still, and all around you, life just passes by in a whirlwind. It doesn't matter that we're still stuck at 18, but the fact that in 5 years' time, we have to step up to the challenge whether we like it or not. The problem is, 5 years will soon come to pass, and it seems too short a time for me to graduate, take some time off to explore the world before being tied down to an office, get married, and start a family. There really isn't sufficient time. Even though I'm up to my nose in school assignments, I am so going to enjoy the last few moments of carefree merry-making and flighty freedom before all hell breaks loose.