Life Changes

This last weekend was a rather big one. Besides seeing not only a new year but a new decade in, Nick and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary and then attended the wedding of one of my dearest friends. It was fun, it was fabulous, and it was COLD with a high of 5 and a low of -22 there in Iowa. But leave it to items such as anniversaries, weddings, new years, and new decades to look back and see how far you've come and how much has changed in your life.

Ten years ago, this millenium had just started.
Ten years ago, I was preparing to start my first semester back after six months in Africa.
Ten years ago, I lived in a dorm on the same floor with all of my dearest friends.
Ten years ago, I was about as single as you could get, and really had no hopes to get married soon.
Ten years ago, I was still in college for the first time, and besides my klepto roommate and reverse culture shock, I was loving it!

One year ago, I was just married. (In fact, I was spending my honeymoon wandering around my new home, a small condo, because my husband was very sick!)
One year ago, I had just finished getting my teaching license and wondered if I really wanted to teach.
A year ago, I had big ideas about writing another d-group summer series.
A year ago, I was scouring real estate websites, dreaming about buying a big, fixer-upper home.
A year ago, I was trying decide how soon I hoped we might have a baby. (That one's answered!)

Now, I am not only a wife, but a mother. A stay-at-home mother who dreams about homeschooling her children a few years down the road. And wondering when the next one is coming. (I admit, I think about six months from now would be perfect, but we'll see what the Lord has in store.)

Life changes, doesn't it? At my friend's wedding, I reflected on how long we'd been waiting for that day. (She'd been dating her fiance for a number of years, and might have married sooner if the Lord had not led her to spend a couple of years in China.) I thought about how things are so different from when we were all living in Omaha, able to hang out to our hearts content. We were young, we were single, we had no commitments. Want to go to Cubby's for ice cream? Sure! Now, one friend is in Germany doing ministry. Another is in Virginia with her young family. Neither could come to the wedding. Another friend is at home in Minnesota, working and owns a property she and her brother rennovated to rent out. They might take on more. I am married and have a daughter. My friend just got back from China, is now married, and moving to western Nebraska to live. So much has changed. But the thing that I love most is the thing that hasn't: we're still friends. We still love each other, care about each other, and it's always good to catch up. I am seriously considering proposing a friends' reunion so we can all get together. Maybe a joint vacation? Might be tricky with kids in tow, but I think we could do it...