Looking Back

Any of you who also know me on facebook probably already know that I've been going through old pictures the past couple days. Later this month my parents are going to Michigan for the 30th anniversary of the church that they helped start, and they've had me scanning pictures of events and people from the church. In the process of doing that tedious job, I've had the pleasure of reliving lots of old memories. I was blessed with a wonderful, happy childhood, and remembering it has been lots of fun. I actually just reconnected with a friend I hadn't talked to in almost 20 years (and I'm only 26, so you know we were LITTLE!!) because I found a picture of her and decided to look her up on facebook.


(BTW, I love how easy facebook and myspace have made it to reconnect with people.) Seeing all these pictures of happy days with friends makes me a little sad and lonely. I miss those days of having tons of friends to hang out with. I miss sleepover parties with makeovers and secret telling. My dad asked me if I would want to go back to those days again. It's hard to say. Certainly I wouldn't want to go back and have to grow up all over again, but it might be fun to go back for a couple days.



I guess I don't get to make that choice though. We don't get to go back. Time keeps moving on, and we all have to grow up. Not that it's such a bad thing. We may not still be giggling under the covers at sleepovers, but now we can fly across the country and laugh our heads off in hotel rooms together (without any parents coming in to tell us that it's time to go to sleep!!). I'm no longer clinging to the hand of my neighborhood friend as we walk off together for our very first day of school, but now I get to hold my nephew and niece and watch them as they experience childhood. I'm not dressing up my best friend in a crazy outfit to take her picture at a birthday party, but in a few months I get to help her get dressed for her wedding and be there with her when she takes that huge step into a new life. I no longer get to be that little girl resting on her daddy, but oh, wait, maybe I do...


No, growing up isn't so bad.