I did some decluttering & organizing in my home office today and I came across a lot of old mementos in the process. It left me thinking a lot about how much my life has changed over the years. For example…

I used to have free time. I spent 83% of it watching tv. Not much is changed except I have much less free time.

I used to hang out with my friends more often, yet now the friendships I have are deeper than ever.

I used to be in love with my husband. That has not changed In fact, my love for him grows exponentially stronger every year.

I used to be thin. I’m a bit heavier now but I’m ironically I’m finally happy with the way I look.

I used to make more money, but I was broke and in lots of debt. Now we both make less but our bills are paid and we have money left at the end of each month.

I used to cry a lot. I’m not sure what changed exactly, but it takes a lot nowadays to make me cry. My skin has thickened over the years and I’m just not as emotional as I used to be.

I used to feel imprisoned by pain and fatigue. I have fibromyalgia. I now know what my physical limits are and have learned to work with them rather than let them rule my life.

I used to be an overchiever. I have let go of a lot of my perfectionistic tendencies.

I used to feel guilty all the time. Mostly for being such a terrible
housekeeper. I’m not a lot better at housekeeping but I no longer have
the guilt.

I’m sure I could go on but that’s what comes to mind currently. If you had told me 10 years ago about the person I would be today, I wouldn’t have believed you. But oh, I am so happy to be here. God has done so many great things in my life and taught me so many life-changing lessons.

What about you? Are you where you thought you would be? Have you changed in ways that surprise you?

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. All that hype for one little day. We had a good Christmas. We spent a lot of time with our extended family, but we were able to have some down time at home too. Saturday we went to my sister’s house and celebrated with the rest of our siblings, my niece, nephew, and all four parents. Sunday we visited Mike’s dad’s family and Christmas day we visited his mom’s family.

Christmas Eve was our day. It has always been our day. (more…)

Currently Listening: The Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah, performed by the London Symphony.

I downloaded it from iTunes today. Every week they offer a couple free songs and this was one of them. I LOVE THIS SONG. I remember singing it in choir in high school (maybe middle school, I can’t remember). So you can imagine how much fun it is for me to sing along here at work

I love how music brings back good memories. Actually, most of the time it doesn’t bring back the details of the memory but it brings back the feeling of the memory. I wish I could recall details better, but I’ll settle for the good feelings. (more…)