A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. It was hard to believe that 16 years have passed since we said “I do”, and that in a few years, I’ll have known my husband for as long as I didn’t know him (we met when we were both 20).
Pretty much all I can think of when I see this picture of us is how young we look:
As we celebrated our anniversary, I was reminded of a friend of mine who always takes notice of milestones. She’s really good at noticing them, and not just the birthday and anniversary kind – she’ll point out things I wouldn’t have noticed, like how I’ve grown as a mom or a new realization I’ve had about myself.
I appreciate her noticing things like that, because it’s easy to skip over them if you’re not paying attention. It helps me to say, “Yes, I am growing and changing” when sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in one place.
One of my son’s last projects this school year was a book report, and he worked on it for several weeks before he was satisfied with it. When finished, he proudly read it aloud to our family and one of my first thoughts was, “He couldn’t have written a report like that at the beginning of the year”. It’s neat to see how far students come from autumn to spring.
Heading into summer, it’s nice to look back on the year and think of where we’ve been. You might have a milestone of your own to celebrate – a college degree or Montessori certification, or the successful completion of your first year of teaching at a school or homeschooling (or your 20th!)
Whatever it is, take a minute to think about where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised when you compare the current you with the you of the past.