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Thursday, December 31, 2009

What a Year. What a Decade.

In less than three hours, a year (and a decade) will be over. I wasn't going to make a big deal about it, but I just can't let this day pass without pausing to reflect (out loud, apparently) on how much has changed.

Ten years ago, I had been married a little more than a year. I lived in a darling little apartment (well, actually, it was pretty damn run down, but we loved it to pieces), had two kitties and relatively few worries.

If you had asked me then what the next decade would bring? Well, I had a vague idea that somewhere along the way we'd buy a house, have a couple of kids and I'd quit my job to stay home and raise them.

I imagined I'd live behind a white picket fence, drop in regularly on my mom and pal around with the women who had been my friends since high school. I thought I'd learn how to cook, resign myself to cleaning and become the domestic goddess I was sure I was meant to be.

In short, I had no clue what was in store for me.

A lot has happened to me in the last ten years. I've struggled with depression. Changed careers a couple of times. Left behind all that was familiar to explore the great unknown (twice). Experienced more pain than I thought I was capable of withstanding—and more joy than I ever knew was possible.

There were years I wasn't sure I was going to make it. And others where I couldn't believe my luck.

But I wouldn't trade a single minute of the last decade. You know why? Because it took every one of those 5,256,000 seconds to get me to where I am today. They shaped who I am and helped me realize who I was meant to be.

They led me to the moment where I fed my baby her last bottle of 2009, kissed her good night and wished her sweet dreams. They brought me to my Tori—the best thing that's ever happened to me.

So tonight, I wish you all a very Happy New Year—and hope the next decade finds you living a life well lived.

9 comments:

  1. What a great post! Happy New Year to you!

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  2. Happy New Year to you too!

    Any chance you'll wake Tori up at midnight?

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  3. You have it exactly right! We never know what life will throw at us, but I've learned that everything does indeed happen for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason is at the time. Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  4. I really have not had much time to reflect on the past ten years though this post makes me want to brew another cup of coffee and ponder this one for awhile.

    Sometimes I think transitions are the hardest and most rewarding things we do in life. Maybe it is because it is in our most difficult times that we learn the most.

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  5. Hey Amber! I left you an award over at my blog today!

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  6. You never know what life will throw at you - happy new year Amber!

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  7. Ten years ago I was in the middle of my first year of Grad School...and would have laughed in your face if you told me I'd be a SAHM in the swamps of Georgia ten years in the future. I had plans, my friend. Apparently God did too...heh.

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  8. I love that you treasure all of your moments, good and bad. What a great attitude to have.

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