Then and Now

Last night I got out an old journal and read through the first 7 years of our marriage.  I didn't write a whole lot during that time so it didn't take all that long.  I think I spent about an hour reading it.  As my kids are getting closer to leaving home, I sometimes find myself wishing I could go back to the time when they were little.  I often think life was much simpler then and I would like for life to be that way again.  But after reading my journal, I've realized that I really don't.  I really like life now.  I like having big kids.  I like little kids too, but it was stressful.  And very tiring.  I only wrote a little bit about the time after Naomi was born.  But it was very hard.  I really don't want to go back to that. 

I'm so thankful that life carries on.  That we get to keep progressing with it.  And I'm thankful that I don't look back on those years and automatically think they were terrible.  I'm glad my first reaction is to remember the sweet and simple times.