Growing up, I never knew what I wanted to be career wise. I had friends who knew from a young age that they wanted to be a lawyer or a doctor. However, I would decide on a career path and then just as quickly I would change it again. Something that I was certain of, was that I wanted to have a family of my own.

The future daydream went something like this… Get married to a tall, dark and handsome man who made me laugh and that I loved like crazy. Together we would grow some babies. From memory, I think I wanted to have four babies – 2 boys and 2 girls. There may have also been something about living in a house like the one from Father of the Bride with a white picket fence and having a dog.

A few days ago, while washing my hair (where all of my moments of enlightenment seem to occur) I had a light bulb moment.  I went through all of the things that young Carla had wanted for adult Carla.

Marry a tall, dark and handsome man who made me laugh and I loved. (*wolf whistles* at Aaron!) Reow. Oh um, check.

Grow some babies. Well one baby. Hello Ollie! Check.

Live in a house with a white picket fence and dogs. Check and part-time check (with one dog on a part-time basis. Father of the Bride house, I still dream of you!

Minus a couple of specifics, I have the life that I always dreamed of having. The truth is that I’ve had that life for a while, but I just hadn’t acknowledged it. I stopped washing my hair long enough to wonder why it had taken me so long to take stock of how blessed I am.

I wondered why that is. Maybe everyday life with a baby just got in the way. Did I not notice I had it all because my life didn’t look exactly as how I had imagined? That made me think of an episode of Sex and The City where Enid says:

“That’s the key to having it all: stop expecting it to look like what you thought it was going to look like”.

It seems to me that in a world that is constantly saturated with doom and gloom from countless media outlets, it sometimes is easier to focus on the negatives.

In addition to all of the above, I thought about how lucky I am in all aspects of my life. I have an amazing family who love and value me and vice versa. An incredible circle of friends who make me smile. We live a blessed and comfortable life in a first world country where opportunities are endless.

I am beyond grateful for the life that I have and I’m going to keep reminding myself of that.