Last weekend Luke and I went home to Toledo, Ohio, where I was raised, to spend a weekend with my parents and friends from home. Whenever I go home I feel an internal struggle that is hard to make sense of.

Let me explain.

My friends and family at home are married, own homes and are on the cusp of having children. My friends here in Chicago are independent, single and get totally freaked out by the idea of settling down….especially in the dreaded SUBURBS!

I feel somewhere in the middle.

My whole life I’ve always said I wanted to live a fast-paced, city life with no obligations except to travel, have fun and push myself to open as many doors as possible. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past four years.

Since meeting Luke though, I can feel my priorities shifting. I no longer have a desire to be “go, go, go” all the time. Instead I’d love to have more of a settled lifestyle that involved family cookouts, dinner with other couples, and a home-base larger than 900 sq. ft.

In some ways I still feel really young & free and in others I am ready for a slower-paced, settled lifestyle.

When do you know when it’s the right time to “grow up” and tackle the next phase in life?