the next 20 years

I remember it like it was yesterday. Don and I sitting at a picnic table in a campground after taking a drive through the mountains. We sat there eating our lunch, enjoying the scenery, and chatting about nothing special. Then the subject turned to having babies, to starting a family.

After being married for nearly seven years, we were excited to realize that we both were ready for the next stage in our life. We even started dreaming about what our kids would look like and what our life would look like with kids in it. It was pure speculation because we didn't have a clue as to what all of that would look like.

It seems like yesterday, but it was 21 years ago.
My first born will be 20 years old next month.

As we sat there that day, we could never have imagined how the next 20 years would have gone. The ups and the downs, the joys and the sorrows, the challenges, and the rewards. And in the same way, as I sit here today, I cannot really imagine what the next 20 years will look like. But I can speculate.

We are entering the next stage of our life under the term empty-nesters. No kids! That is... no kids in the house. Of course, we will still have kids and for the next few years, I'm assuming that they will still need their parents in one form or another. And I'm hoping that within the next 20 years, there will be grandchildren for me to lavish with love and attention.

Since we won't be tied down to the house or kids, we want to travel a bit more. Not only around the country but within our own state. We've lived here seventeen years and there are many places we still haven't visited.

I've been thinking about taking on a part-time job, and that would certainly change the way my life looks. Don may change his job and we're open to moving some place new. We're retiring from Youth Ministry here in a few months so our service to God and our church will look different and to tell you the truth, I don't have a clue of what that might look like. It's a little bit scary, but also, exciting.

So, as with the last 20 years, I'm sure the next 20 years will be full of changes, yet full of life. I look forward to them and see them as an adventure. The next 20 years are not to be looked at as a destination, but merely a part of my journey.

This post was written for Scribbit's March's Write-Away Contest with the prompt, The Next 20 Years.

auld lang sine

Can you believe it!? This is the last day of 2007. Where did the year go? It's that time when I reflect on the past year and think about what I would like the new year to look like. One could call that process making resolutions. I don't, mainly because I've made many resolutions throughout my life and I don't usually keep them. So I learned that if I don't call them resolutions, I can't break them ;)

2007 wasn't the best of years and we're looking forward to 2008 being a better one. Don's job situation, and not knowing what his future would look like, made most of the year a stressful time. And I was a little overwhelmed in November when I was diagnosed with Diabetes.

But, for the present time, Don still has his job and I think I have my Diabetes under control. God has been good to see us through these times and we are thankful that our trials weren't any worse. He promises us that He doesn't give us more than we can handle.

There were a lot of good things that happened this past year and, again, I am thankful for each and every blessing and happy event that was a part of our 2007. I do look forward to 2008 because I look forward to seeing how God will use me and what He has in store for me and my family.

Even though I don't make resolutions, there are some things that I will be working hard on to achieve. I plan to read more. There are so many books I have that I haven't read. I love to read. I just need to make it more of a priority.

I also want to get back into scrapbooking. Again, I just need to make it a priority. I plan to spend my new year's eve of 2009 sitting around looking through all my finished photo albums with the satisfaction of having read so many books.

Of course, what I just wrote may come back to haunt me, but I'm going to be working hard at it all. I hesitate to mention this, but I'll also be working on being better at exercising and eating healthier. But again, these ARE NOT resolutions.

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link of the day:
http://www.icq.com/img/friendship/static/card_16961_rs.swf

dreams are a wish your heart makes

so yesterday, i wrote about this little coffee shop that jake's band has played at a couple of times now. it's an interesting place, in a cool way. not only are they a coffee shop, with a menu full of food and drinks, and have the two stages for bands and comedy, but they are a non-profit christian organization.

their walls are filled with scripture, they have a large area of wall space where people can leave prayer requests, they have mid-week bible studies, and a sunday worship service. when we were there last night, they had a group going out onto the streets and passing out a little booklet about easter. i wanted to give you an idea of what this place is like because i don't know if there are a lot of these types of establishments out there or not.

and i mention all of this here as a introduction to a dream don and i have had for some time now. actually it's been more of don's dream but if the circumstances were right, i'd be on board. we want to open some place like the one described above but more on a teen level. we think it would be so cool to have a venue where kids could come and hang out.

we would definitely want part of it to be a place where bands could come and perform. but the place would also have pool, ping pong, and foosball tables as well as food and drinks. to us, this would be the best for all involved. we would get to hang out with kids, kids would have a place to hang out that has a positive atmosphere, and bands (mostly young and upcoming) would have a venue to play at.

it's a dream. no telling if it will ever come true. but we can still dream.

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link of the day:
http://www.patentlysilly.com/