Quarter of a Century

I turned on the evening news

Saw an old man being interviewed

Turning a hundred and two today

Asked him what's the secret to life

He looked up from his old pipe

Laughed and said "All I can say is.

"Don't blink

Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you

Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don't blink

You just might miss your babies growing like mine did

Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"

Of fifty years is there in bed

And you're praying God takes you instead

Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think

So don't blink

From Don't Blink: By Kenny Chesney

I am 25 years old. Yikes! As I enter a new demographic, and somehow feel that I am no longer a “young” adult, I reflect on my first quarter of a century.

I was born in a snowy winter day January 18, 1983 at the Orem Community Hospital. I lived in Riverton, Utah until I was 11 years old and had many wonderful memories there, playing in the field and at the “apple” tree, riding my bike to Rosamond Elementary, going to primary at the old 2nd Ward Building, and playing in my backyard with my brothers. When I was 11 I moved to Cedar City and started middle school. Those years were sometimes hard, but I was lucky enough to meet some amazing girls who are still some of my best friends today. I started high school and ran on the cross country and track teams and was a pretty serious student, with my dreams of going to BYU someday. Little did I know when I went to school the first day of 10th grade that my life was about to change forever.

In 2nd period Chemistry class I was assigned to sit next to a boy I didn’t know named Raymond Griffith. One thing led to another, we became great friends and we started dating in February of 1999. I never thought I would have a boyfriend in high school, but when something is meant to be, it just happens. We dated all through high school, and after graduation Ray left on a mission to Guadalajara Mexico and I headed to college at BYU. The two years apart were very hard, but when he returned home we picked up where we left off, and were engaged a couple of months later. We were married in the Salt Lake Temple on April 30, 2004. We had now been married almost 4 years and have had many amazing adventures along the way. In that time we have both graduated from BYU, moved to Washington DC, back to Utah, and now find ourselves “deep in the heart of Texas (clap, clap, clap).” I guess that is pretty much my life story in a nut shell!

There is just something about 25, it seems so much older than 24. In many ways I think, wow, I’m 25 years old, and what have I done in life? I know that is a bad attitude to have, because I have accomplished many things in my life. I guess I just need to remember that!

So as I celebrate my 25th birthday, I contemplate that it seems like just yesterday I was turning 5, and building a snowman in the yard with my brothers, or getting my mountain bike when I turned 10. At 14 I had all the girls over for pizza and games, or snowboarding with Ray when I turned 17. The truth is, my first 25 years have gone by extremely fast, and I would imagine the next 25 will pass even faster. What will my next 25 years bring? Only time will tell, but no doubt there will be a story for the telling.