The Difference a Decade Makes

     Some online friends of mine and I were discussing our blogs and how frequently we update them. It came to light that many of us were not the great bloggers we had hoped to be when we first began. It was then that Kyra at the Mrs. Quartermaster blog hatched a devious plan...a dastardly plot...an evil manifesto of such proportions...

No, wait, that's another story.

Kyra suggested that we try a blog challenge. Knowing that crafting a blog every single day is not the easiet thing to commit to, Kyra set the challenge at blogging once a week for eight weeks. Given my stellar inspired less than amazing performance in the photo-a-day challenge in February, you can imagine my relief that I'll only be expected to post something readable once a week. I think I can handle that.

If you're interested in taking part in the challenge yourself, you can find the rules and further explanation here. Please check out the other bloggers' posts and remember to link to your own post through the Mr. Linky. :)

This week's prompt is to compare and contrast ourselves ten years ago and today.


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Ten years is a long time, and yet no time at all. Ten years is my daughter's lifetime next month. It never ceases to amaze me how much life has changed since then.

Ten years ago, my husband and I were enjoying the second year of our marriage, living happily in a small apartment that had become packed with baby paraphernalia. Pastel pinks, blues, and yellows were strewn around in the forms of presents, crib linens, diapers, and baby shower cards. Stacks of books on pregnancy and childbirth stood around the recliner for me to while away the hours of my husband's second shift factory job. Afternoons were spent on the steps of the building, chatting with our neighbors and cooing over the new baby of the neighbor up the hill. My mother called every few days to check how I was feeling at eight months pregnant, and to invite us over for Sunday dinner with my family.

Today, my husband I are enjoying the twelfth year of our marriage, living happily in a house that is packed with children's toys, dog leashes and toys, litter boxes and kitten boxes. Pastel blues and creams surround us in the form of checked curtains and country accents. Stacks of books on teaching, classic novels, teen fantasy and early chapter readers stand around the recliner, on the book shelves, on end tables, and by the couch for the four of us to study for class, read for pleasure, and while away the hours when we're not playing with animals or in the garden. Afternoons are spent chatting on Facebook or across the fence with the neighbors, cooing over the new baby next door. I stop to visit my mother at the cemetery every so often, but more frequently by brushing a small knickknack or wearing a piece of jewelry she treasured and feeling her presence in the absence. The family is spread as far as Texas and as close as a few miles away, but we still get together when we can.

Ten years has taken us so many places...to schools of elementary and higher learning. To Washington, D.C. or Iraq. To new life and sad death. And yet things remain the same: family, friends, love. Ten years has meant change, growth, and learning. Such an amazing thing, ten years.

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Thank you for reading, especially if you're new to my blog. I hope you're interested in sharing your own changes and challenges of ten years time. Don't forget to stop by Kyra's blog for more details and more blog posts! I'm glad you stopped by. :)