renewal

Recently I received a driving license renewal form in the mail, time for a new license. It took me back ten years to when I last renewed it, when I was pregnant with Bill. I drove to the Sunshine Vic Roads feeling fat & puffy and frumpy and boy does it show in my license photo.! I remember thinking, great, I have to suffer with this photo for ten years!  And all of a sudden, ten years have flown by and I get to say goodbye to that pregnant me, which is kind of bitter sweet. I'm waiting for my new license to arrive, I wonder what the new me looks like?

This got me thinking not so much about how I look but more about all the things that have happened in those ten years.  It's a big chunk of time isn't it? I big chunk of life.

Ten years ago I didn't know that I would be living in beautiful Daylesford, in a pretty yellow house with a lovely garden.

How could I have known I would fall in love with chooks and ducks? That we would have fresh eggs daily, fruit trees, a vegie patch, flowers, fresh air, sunshine and bitter winters.

That I would stand outside at night and smell that good country air and feel such freedom from the noise & bustle of the city.

I didn't know then that I would have a boy called Billy who would be a little brother for Lucy & Charlotte. Or that I would have two more girls, Sunday & Rosie. Who would have thought? 

Ten years ago I was nervous about having a third baby, but thrilled to be having a son who was born just before Christmas. Ten years ago I was in my thirties, I had dark brown hair & wore red lipstick & I lived in Footscray.

I didn't know then that we would sadly lose both Mark's parents to cancer. His mother at the start of my pregnancy with Sunday, and his father a week before she was born. A sad & difficult time that we will never forget. A time made less painful by the arrival of our little girl, such a sweet & adorable baby.

Ten years ago I had no clue that my Dad would sell a precious family home where many memories were made. That my brother would move to Tasmania with his own family. That my mum would buy an old church in Hepburn and become such a lovely part of our every day lives.

Ten years ago I would have been so happy to know that I would have such good and loving friends. That I would meet some beautiful people who I adore, who ride this crazy roller coaster of life with me.

How could I know that I would still be with Mark? Of course I had hoped so but anything can happen. How lucky we are to have each other & our children who we love so much.

In the ten years that have passed I have grown older and maybe a bit more relaxed. I still stress sometimes, like us all, but I have slowed down a bit too and try not to worry about the little things. I've brought up four toddlers and a teenager, and now the four are at school & Charlotte is discovering the world as an adult. Some days I really feel the challenge of parenting, it's such a huge responsibility.  But every day I also feel so grateful to have them in my life, they make me laugh, they give the best cuddles, their creativity & freshness inspires me & their love & fun fills my life with happiness.

Ten years ago I didn't know I would be addicted to Grand Designs, that I would actually like olives, that I would love photography so much, that I could make bunnies out of blankets,  that I would have a blog! I didn't know I would have just had a lovely night away at the Windsor Hotel with my beloved,

or that he would be flying off to France on Saturday. A billion, million, trillion other things have happened over the last ten years, many thoughts, events, happy times & sadnesses. 

I didn't know ten years ago that a lovely family we are so fond of would lose their beautiful mum & wife. Her death reminds me daily to make the most of each moment, to love my family, make plans, to laugh & to live life, to really be in it,

 to treasure it.

I wonder what you were doing ten years ago? Do you feel like it's gone quickly? 

I hope all is well in your world of today,
take care &
see you soon, lovely friends xo