I’m twenty-four years old and still live with my parents. Thankfully, I have a good relationship with them and am not someone who feels like they need to escape the presence of their family.

I do however, find myself at times dreaming about being further along in my life. I think about having a place of my own, a wife, a litter of kids, a dog, and a whole lot more financial security. Sometimes I feel an embarrassment spur inside of me when I tell people I still live at home.

I have to remind myself that this is temporary, and that one day this won’t be the norm. One day my parents won’t be here, and even my brother will be off living his own life. For now though, we’re all in the same home.

I still get to play golf with my dad and brother at our local golf course we sneak onto, or go for a swim at the pool across from our house with everyone. And while these seem like small moments, some time into the future, I’ll be living somewhere else, and this won’t be the norm.

I’ll look back on when times were simpler. I’ll think about when I got to train in the gym with my brother, or wake up to a ready-made lunch for work from my mum. And although, the situation I’m currently in wasn’t the one I dreamed of being in at twenty-four, I know it’s the one I’ll dream about going back to at forty.

Which is why I’m doing my best to soak this in while I still can.