random.

Belly art in NYC, summer of '69

Really cool shot from this Buzzfeed list: 31 Photos of New York City in the Summer of '69.

A friend of mine posted something really profound on facebook awhile back.  She is a new mom, and while she loves her life, she sometimes misses having the chance to be wild, irresponsible, and independent (I'm totally paraphrasing here).

I identify with that feeling SO HARD.

Don't get me wrong, I had my wild independent years in college. But I met my now-husband when I was 21, and we have been together for 9 years, and married for 5 of those. Ty was born 9 months after we got married (no really, if we had had a honeymoon he would have totally been a honeymoon baby). So my irresponsible 20s were spent in a long-term relationship, and then as a wife and mother.

I wouldn't trade my husband and kids for anything, but do I wish that I had done more before settling down? Yes.

I wish that I had done the work abroad program in England that I wanted to do. Or lived in New York City for a few years. Or been a starving artist (though I'm not artistic).

Sometimes I miss being able to sleep in until 11, after staying up partying until 4 or 5. I miss only worrying about myself. Going out to the store for milk (oh who am I kidding- beer) without coordinating either who will stay with the kids, or gearing myself up to take them with me.

But then I get a hug and a kiss from one of my kids, and I think, "This isn't so bad."

I think that's why I try to change my appearance. Why I get yet another tattoo. Or why, on the 4th of July, I decided that I should try to bleach my hair blonde in preparation for growing out my white roots (oh that post will come later, don't you worry).

I got my hair cut into an even closer cropped pixie the other day. It may not seem like much, but it was a little way that I could rebel against the responsible wife-mother-grad student-intern that is my current role.

So cheers to all the moms who sometimes get the feeling that they missed out on things. Because even if we did, this reality is so much better.

And if you need to, just dye your hair a crazy color or get a tongue piercing to make you feel a little more alive.

(God, I miss my tongue piercing!)