One of my favorite lyrics from one of my favorite songs of all time is the line from the Indigo Girl's Watershed - Every five years or so I look back on my life and I have a good laugh.
Last week, I completed my FIFTH year of a Week in the Life and the anniversary gave me just a chance to look back and have a good laugh. As I flipped through my first Week in the Life in 2010, I was overwhelmed by how much our lives have changed. The years have passed so quickly that I haven't been able to take a step back and see that in almost every area our lives are different.
1. Our family
We went from three to FIVE. That's a BIG DANG CHANGE. It's affected every other thing on this list. We thought life was crazy with a one-year-old, but boy were we wrong! Our lives are so much bigger and fuller and crazier with a six-year-old AND a four-year-old AND an eight-month-old. It's not always fun and it's certainly not easy, but it's our life and we love it.
2. Our home
I've painted or redecorated every room in our house except the dining room and bathroom. Many of the changes were due to our ever-expanding family. Our family changed so our home changed with it. However, a huge part of it was I was in such a hurry to settle in five years ago I didn't take the time to figure out what I really liked. While there is upkeep that still needs to happen (hello, kitchen cabinets!), I feel like I have finally found my style and am happy with how our house looks and feels.
3. Our community
Five years ago, our circle was so much smaller. We spent time with my immediate family and a few of my friends from childhood, but that was about it. In 2010, we had two activities the entire week. In 2015, we had upwards of two A DAY. We joined a church. We volunteer on boards and with community organizations. We help at preschool school and elementary school and Cub Scouts. Between church activities and community events and time with our awesome group of friends, our schedules are bursting at the seams as to the relative calm of five years ago.
4. Work
Well, five years ago, I wasn't working and Nicholas was working somewhere else! It was only a couple of months after completing the 2010 Week in the Life that The Other Sarah asked me if I'd be interested in starting a blog and everything changed. I went from spending a couple of hours a week teaching to now spending hours and hours running this blog as well as my social media coaching business.
5. Downtime
As a result of our expanded family and responsibilities, how we spend our leisure time is very different. Specifically, we don't have much leisure time! I almost laughed out loud when I read that I watched THREE HOURS of television one night. I bet I haven't watched more than three hours of television in one sitting in a solid year or more. Maggie is the only one laying on the couch these days. We're too busy going here, there, and yonder.
