Grandma Rachel

It's no secret that I'm somewhat of an old person stuck inside a 25-year-old body. I prefer nights in reading to wild nights out on the town. I drink large quantities of tea. I know how to knit. Sometimes this makes me feel inadequate, like I'm not really living up to my full potential. And then there are nights like last night that remind me that I am actually 25 and I can go out and enjoy myself while still being a granny at heart.

My day started early at the gym as usual. I taught the bestie my shoulder routine. Shoulder day is almost as bad as leg day in terms of how badly the lifts hurt. I love the burn. I also ran a quick 4 miles.

A man came up to me and asked how far I ran. I told him only 4 miles and he said, "I'm not trying to be nosey, but it's hard not to notice when someone is working really hard." That pretty much made my day. I also snuck shots between sets.

I came home and realized that I would be wasting the day if I didn't lay out in the beautiful sunshine, so I got a book and read for a good 2 hours. I was so absorbed in the book it was hard to force myself inside to the couch to continue reading. I love books like that.

When I finally set down my book, I decided to stretch and foam roll. That thing hurts real good.

Yes, I am wearing the same pjs as Wednesday. That's the beauty of summer vacation. I can go from pjs to gym clothes right back to pjs. It's beautiful. We had taco salad for dinner and it was wonderful.

The day before I had agreed to go to karaoke with some theater friends. Well, 8pm rolled around and the grandma in me was screaming to stay at home in bed reading and fall asleep at 10. I didn't listen to her and put on make-up and real people clothes for the first time since Saturday.

I forced myself into the car, convincing myself that this was good for me. I hadn't seen my friends for what feels like months and months. Plus, while I was waiting for my carpool, I got to look at this view.

The minute I got in the car I knew I had made the right decision. These people make me feel alive. Running makes me feel alive, lifting makes me feel alive, and musical theater people singing karaoke better than anyone else in the joint make me feel alive.

I realized that it's okay to be a grandma 95% of the time if I truly enjoy myself the other 5% of the time. Just like everything in life, there has to be balance. Sure, I would love to be in the gym, immersing myself in the fitness world constantly, but that's no way to live. Going out every night and forgetting about real life is no way to live either.

I was reminded that I am 25 and I do still know how to act young while at the same time, I know how to act mature and adult like. Some people my age really don't know how to do that. I should consider myself lucky.

So, last night I went out. I danced, I sang, I went to bed at 2:00am. And this morning it was right back to being the responsible Rachel, in the gym at 8:45 because I had made a commitment to be there. I was reminded that it's important to stay young and to feel alive in different ways than the normal ways I seek out.

I was also reminded that I have some of the best, most talented, amazing friends on the planet.