things are changing…

Yesterday, Paul and I went to Auburn for the AU vs. LSU game.  We left during the fourth quarter, despite the intensity, so we could beat traffic coming home but it was so worth it!  I had a really good time, even if MY tigers didn’t pull out the win.  (Needless to say, Paul was pretty happy listening to the end of the game on the radio.)  We got to see Katie and the rest of the Foster clan (who gave us our sweet tickets for the game), got a really good view of the eagle flying (Paul said he was just hoping we wouldn’t get a little pre-game “surprise”), ate some good ole concession food (which is ridiculously priced now) and just watched the game.  :)  

Obviously, I am aware that a lot of things in my life have changed and are still changing in really big ways.  And all of them are really great changes to be excited about.  But if I had any question about that before, yesterday answered it (something about being at the old college stomping grounds).  One week from today I will be 23.  A birthday, not usually all that big of a deal, just turning another year older.  But 23 feels different.  I could go through a list of reasons why I think I feel this way, but none of them are really that rational or interesting.  Suffice to say that another year of my life has passed and it has hands down been THE most eventful and fulfilling year of my life.  (And I think and hope that the one approaching will be even more so.)  A lot of milestones.  

I am a college graduate. 

Paul and I are married.  

I have a “big girl” job now.  – One that is exhausting, frustrating and intermittently rewarding.  This has been a huge change.  A drastic change in the way I view education, but even more in the way that I view parenting.  A lot of my students and their families have shown me exactly how I do NOT want to parent my child.  And how incredibly thankful I am for parents who served me well and gave me the guidance I needed, not that I always wanted.  Taught me what it means to be respectful.  Why respect is important.  Why learning is important.  The value of an education.  That the company you keep and what you do in their presence speaks volumes about who you are or hope to be.  There are a million and one more of these little (and big) life lessons that I can’t imagine doing without.  Especially now that I watch 50-something kids walk around with no knowledge or understanding of what any of that means.

And this time next year, Paul and I will have a whole new “normal” to reflect on.  

 

Times, they are changin, that is for certain.