Thursday, October 18, 2012

Previous life

On most mornings and afternoons, I stand at the bus stop & talk with a few of the moms who I regularly visit with while our big kids are heading to or from school and our little kids are being silly with each other.  Each day the topic of conversation changes - husbands deployed or TDY & dealing with the daily challenges, the trouble-making teenagers in the neighborhood, the weather, potty-training, or the wildlife that has been spotted lately.

Yesterday, however, the topic of conversation turned back the sands of time.  Someone mentioned that they were updating their resume and was looking back at the different jobs they had done while stationed at various other Air Force bases & Army posts over the years.  And when I say over the years... I mean before all the kids came along.  We all kinda chuckled & thought about what our previous life entailed.  One mom mentioned flight attendant; another mentioned court appointed child advocate; and still another mentioned college student.  Then I got to thinking about what my previous life was like before my three beautiful, sweet children came into this world.


  • Sleeping in until whenever I wanted.  And that doesn't mean 7:30am.
  • Eating, tasting and enjoying my meals.  I'm quite sure that I haven't tasted food in five and a half years. All food is chomped and swallowed in rapid time in anticipation of the next request from a child to get up and retrieve something.
  • Date nights with my hubby whenever we wanted.
  • Relaxing Vacations - long gone are the days of relaxation. So much for sitting, sleeping, reading, or thinking without interruption. 
  • Enjoying some adult beverages {and sometimes more than several} whenever I wanted without the thought of having a hangover & having to handle my 3 kiddos.
  • Working out or running whenever I wanted.  That is without a double running stroller.
  • High School Teacher who spent way too much extra time up at school on weekends preparing lesson plans or grading essays.
  • Head Coach for the high school girls soccer team.  See "teacher reference" above... any extra time was spent training & coaching at the school.
I adore my children. I really do. I wouldn't trade my life with them for anything. I'm a better person because of them, no doubt.  However.   Let's be honest... life is just entirely different because of them.  My previous life just seems so long ago.


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