10 years

Do you know what you were doing 10 years ago tonight? I do. Ten years ago I walked across a temporary stage in the middle of an outdoor football field in a small Texas town and accepted my high school diploma. I thought I was grown up. I had an acceptance letter to the college of my choice and all I had to do was make it through the summer and then come August I would pack up my car and head off to college to start my life.

The month of May has always been a month of new beginnings for me. May 2000 I finished my first year of college and moved in with my 2 best friends into our first apartment. May 2001 I moved out of that apartment, no longer friends with either girl, and into my very own apartment. May 2002 I studied abroad in Russia and faced my fears about studying in a foreign country with only a basic grasp of the language. May 2003 I accepted a proposal of marriage from my future husband whom I had known for a total of 4 1/2 months. May 2004 I married that man and we started our lives together. May 2005 we celebrated completing our first difficult year of marriage in Florida with my parents. May 2006 we purchased our first home and spent a week getting it ready to move into. May 2007 I lost my job of 3 1/2 years and had to start looking for a new one with a 4 month old baby at home. May 2008 was my first full month as a stay at home mom.

And here it is, May 2009. I am now the proud owner of a bachelor's degree, a homeowner, a wife, a mother of 2 boys and now I think I might actually be a grown up for real. I barely remember that girl from 10 years ago but I am proud of her and how far she has come.