Memory Lane

15 years ago...I was in college at the University of New Mexico pursuing a degree in Math Education.  I was dating Ollie and knew we would eventually get married.  I spent my time either working at the library, babysitting, in class, or with Ollie.  Most of my studying was done while working at the library.  It was a fun time in my life.  Relatively little stress, living in a beautiful state.  Ollie and I hiked a lot in the mountains and took day trips all over the state on the weekends.  

10 years ago...I was living here in Florida and teaching high school Math.  Ollie was working as a grower in a local nursery.  I was hoping to get pregnant this fall so that the baby would be due after school got out for the summer.  It took me three months to get pregnant and I was terrified I wouldn't be able to get pregnant.  I've always been a hypochondriac and this was a new thing in my life to worry over.  I have such empathy for people who spend years trying to get pregnant.  It must be so hard, month after month.  Ollie and I were still regularly taking day trips on the weekends, getting to know Florida.  He was steadily filling our yard with tropical fruit trees.  We were looking forward to starting a family and all that would bring.

5 years ago...We had three kids-Hannah was 4, Grace was 2, and Joe was about 7 months old.  It was around this time that he choked and almost died.  Daily life was crazy but I loved it.  I actually really miss those days.  We didn't have the pressure to get up and school everyday, we weren't nearly as busy.  We had no outside activities other than storytime at the library and playing with friends.  I was definitely less stressed.  I was always taking pictures and videos.  Joe was on the move and learning to crawl and pull up.  Grace was talking and keeping us laughing.  Hannah was knee deep in her passion for fashion and came up with some unique outfits on a daily basis.  Ollie was teaching at the local high school.  He was hired at the last minute teaching a few different things.  One of them was a math class that I used to teach.  For his first month or two of school I did most of his lesson plans to help him out.  It was a tough year, he had never taught before and it's not an easy job!

1 year ago...Joe had just started preschool.  I was definitely a seasoned homeschooler--finally feeling like I had a clue about what I was doing.  Ollie had found his niche in the teaching world.  He was (and still is) teaching in a special needs school.  His students have varying exceptionalities but mostly he has kids with Down Syndrome or Autism.  We were very busy with Joe's preschool things, field trips, theatre, and homeschooling.

Today...I've had a rough day and want to quit homeschooling. :0)  Not really but it's just been one of those days where school sounds like a beautiful place for them to be.  On a more positive note--Joe is in Kindergarten and is learning to read and isn't hard to teach once he decides to cooperate, Grace is in second grade and is making great strides in reading, Hannah is in fourth grade and is knee deep in finally really learning how to write.  She doesn't like it but is making progress and has less anxiety.  I am tutoring a lot, trying to get healthy and get my feet back to normal, and schooling, taking care of the family and home, and have almost no time leftover for anything but sleep.  It's a season and I know it will pass.  In just about 10 years I will have a houseful of teenagers and probably a lot of time to myself and will wish my kids were underfoot.  Ollie is still teaching, and is a great, helpful, very involved dad.  Praise God!

Tomorrow... We have a field trip to a play and then an afternoon of tutoring and then church.  Hopefully I will be in a better mood. :0)