The Season of Bells, Diapers, Rings and Toes, Rings and Toes

February-July is the season for weddings and new babies. You may have already known this as it seems to be the norm in most cultures but I am only just finding this out as I reach that undefined age at which your friends suddenly begin marrying and reproducing (in no particular order). This age may for some people may be the "Age of Maturity", which was recently defined for me by a friend as "The age when you get practical stuff as presents and instead of being bummed say cool I actually needed that". Now this definition never accurately summed up this age for me, for whom practical presents were the norm. For me, the age of maturity has always been when you can successfully and repeatedly put others needs before your own and make well thought out logical decisions that lead to a successful life. Phrased like that, this may be a pipe dream to some, or even motherhood to others.

Regardless, this time of marriages and babies may be achieved long after you reach the age of maturity, when you are financially stable and successful, are ready to cohabitate and have the required half a million dollars required to correctly raise a child in Los Angeles, CA. Since for normal people this is also a pipe dream (HA!), I am personally redefining this time as my post college years, or in general, the early to mid twenties. This makes a lot of sense, people have dated, maybe lived together, and everyone is getting that gentle nudge from mother nature in the form of natural hormones that say AH-GET-PREGNANT-NOW-REPRODUCE-THIS-INSTANT-AHHH. People may also get this nudge from parents, in the form of gentle reminders that they're not getting any younger, and grandchildren might be nice, unless you live in my family where reproduction before a successful career (read doctor or lawyer, 30-40 years old) is tantamount to grand larceny.

In the past year, a ridiculous amount of my friends have gotten married. I've actually lost count, where previously the only wedding I knew of was my much older brother's. Only three friends have reproduced, though neither bothered with getting married yet because they are modern and cool like that, yo. No conforming to the man here! And yet, when I step back and look at this, it all seems a little fast to me. Hypocritically I myself am getting married next March. I tell myself this is okay because we've been dating for 8 years and are practically married already. But really, 24 still seems a bit young for the average marriage or baby for less cool people says the self proclaimed dork/nerd. Still, a little more stability would be nice.

Either way, it's wedding season and I'm about to add my name to the list of people who have taken the plunge. I have only 8 months to go till the big day, have to take my medical school entrance exams this September, fill out my applications for October and get my shit together so I can join the ranks of the white coats and the married. All while telling nature exactly where she can shove her reproductive, mature people hormones.

Is anyone else finding this as difficult as I am?