Best Time of My Life

I have a "thing" with TV series that take place in high school and college. I didn't particularly love that time of my life, mainly because I thought academia was a bore and did all I needed to do to get my A's and B's and get out of there. In the least possible creepy way, by then I just wanted to be in love, get married and become a mom.

I get sucked into these shows that take place in "real" colleges (currently – Gilmore Girls). Since I went to a commuter college, all of these different college experiences seem really enchanting to me. I watch them and think, "Man, if I went to that type of school, it would have been the best time of my life." or "If I was in Glee Club, it would have been the best time of my life". I tend to get a little sad thinking I missed out on something when really, I was just interested in different things at those times of my life.

This morning I started thinking, what was the best time of my life? I let my mind wander a little and WHAM. No-brainer. Between when I was 9-16 years old was the best time of my life.

Every time I hear 90's music (especially Norah Jones and Sarah McLaughlin) I am instantly taken back to the most incredible and defining years of my life. I didn't need to wait for college to have life-changing experiences and meet the friends I would carry with me the rest of my life. I rode horses in a barn full of like-minded, completely insane girls supervised by a bunch of ladies who were not our mothers. Or worse (better?), supervised by a seventeen year old boy for a short time.

We took riding seriously and the care for our horses even more so, but the times we weren't in the saddle we spent together, being idiots. As much as fraternity brothers use alcohol to bond, we had passion for horses and anything that involved them. Friendly competition broke out frequently but generally speaking we spent hours upon hours obsessing over the same thing, with few responsibilities beyond learning how to stay safe and take care of ourselves. So many microwavable meals were consumed. So many. We were essentially college students for 3 or 4 hours a day at age 12.

I'm not sad when I look back and think the "best" time of my life was almost twenty years ago. I'm partially relieved that it's already happened and extremely thankful that I have so many photos and songs to bring me right back to that incredible time in my life.

Mostly, I'm excited. My boys haven't hit their stride yet. They still have their whole lives to build and the "best" for them hasn't happened yet. At this point, every adventure we take is the "best" time for them. Every single day is better than the day they had before.

I can't wait to experience their "best" as a bystander. Watching the world through their eyes just took a new meaning for me. Every day is the collective best day of our lives. I love it.