Sunday Morning and Memories......

Yes, I know this is Monday. I am aware that I am a day behind in posting this... Bear with me, I finally got some sleep and am moving out of a short manic phase.
Sunday, I had a visit from one of my best friends from high school. I hadn't seen her in 9 years, she lives 8 hours away  and we only talk on the phone periodically.  She and her daughter (who looks just like when she was that age) were in my neck of the the woods visiting family. It was wonderful to see her and to revisit memories of the past. It was great to catch up on family and friends and just to be Brandy for awhile. I spend a lot of time these days being Dallas or Liam's mom, James' wife, Kathy's daughter, or Melvin's granddaughter. It was really great just to be Brandy...I miss her.
You never realize just how much you have changed until you get around old and trusted friends. You also realize just how much you have remained the same.  I feel blessed with the life that I am leading now and in the changes that I have made to be a better person, and I feel blessed to have had the chance to make so many mistakes in my life that helped mold me into who I am now.

Then

Now

You couldn't pay me to go back and relive those years. You couldn't pay me to be 16-20 again. I HATED that age. I realize that I like the fact that I am slowly going gray, that I have smile lines, and not so nice frown lines.

Life

by Henry Van Dyke

Let me but live my life from year to year,
With forward face and unreluctant soul;
Not hurrying to, nor turning from the goal;
Not mourning for the things that disappear
In the dim past, nor holding back in fear
From what the future veils; but with a whole
And happy heart, that pays its toll
To Youth and Age, and travels on with cheer.

So let the way wind up the hill or down,
O'er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy:
Still seeking what I sought when but a boy,
New friendship, high adventure, and a crown,
My heart will keep the courage of the quest,
And hope the road's last turn will be the best.