Girl with the red umbrella

For a long time, I used Bridget Jones as a litmus test for whether or not I was really "behind" in life. This is a cutting room floor paragraph from the creative nonfiction book I'll be publishing this year: This may sound slightly crazy, but the newest Bridget Jones movie bought me another 5 anxiety-free years. You see, I always measured my life in Bridget Jones’ years. She was like my personality twin, and if she was behind where I was in life and older than me, then I was okay. But then, in the second movie, she figured it all out. As my age crept past the age she was at at the end of the movie, I started to panic full-on. Bridget figured it out before I did! But thankfully, a new movie came out. She’s older, and she “messed up” again, and things worked out just dandy. Not traditional, yet she was happy and quirky and full of life. I wonder how many women saw themselves reflected in this lovable, self-deprecating character who always seemed to end up in the loveliest m...