Today’s guest post is from the incomparable, Tam Hodge. She resides over at InProgress. I got to meet her in May—and she’s as beautiful in person as she is in her amazing writing. I’ve been reading her blog for years and inevitably walk away with an “ouch” moment. In a good way of course. Today’s post is of no exception. In fact, her post today has inspired me to end my countdown to 25. While turning 25 still makes me anxious… there’s more to this life than counting days.

Today is a promise and I am going to strive to live it … loud and proud.

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25. twenty-five. a quarter. a quarter century. the blessed age. the best age.

ahhh….i remember it so well. it’s like it was yesterday…only, it wasn’t. i do think i would go back to this age if i could though.

oh, definitely! the days when i seemed to have less butt. more elasticity in my skin. energy. metabolism. less fuzz on my face - what the heck is THAT all about?! the days when i believed i had all the time in the world to conquer my dreams. the time when my first born was only 2 years old. oh how i miss that stage.

the number one song the year i was 25 was Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio from the movie Dangerous Minds
i had seafoam green in my guest bathroom
i wore my pants above my belly button
i got a car phone for mothers day!
gas was $1.10 per gallon
i didn’t have a church home
i wore jeans overalls

life looks much different today, 14 years later. the things that were common, cutting edge and popular then are almost laughable now. and 14 years from now, i’ll say the same about today.

so…we live now. for today. not in the past. not in the future. if we’ve woken up today, then today is our promise. it is planned and has a purpose. use up every second of it you can. make your mark and leave your mark on it.

let it be known you meant to live today.