When I worked as an apprentice, I’d get home from work around 3pm. I’d change into my running gear and would walk 10 minutes to the nearby lake and then run 5 times around the circumference (1 lap is about 2.5km).
I headed back to the lake yesterday to spend some time brainstorming about the blog and thought about how fit I was all those years ago.
Even though I was tired from a heavy day of labour at work, I still had enough energy to run over 12km.
How the heck? I need some of that energy back!
I’ve always loved visiting the lake at Forest Lake, but moving away from within walking distance and having kids and having little margin in life has prevented me from getting there more often.
I did try to make a habit of walking around the lake last year when I’d drop Esther to Kindy, but Maggie would always want to stop and play at each park and it would be a challenge to get her and Phoebe back into the pram to walk back to the car.
My friend Astrid, runs Simple Bliss Coffee on the Lake and I hadn’t checked out her set-up until yesterday.
I’m kicking myself for not coming sooner.
As I perched myself up at one of the benches, sipping my chai latte and watching the ducks dive in and out of the water, I pondered how much my life has changed since living in the Western suburbs.
I remember when Jacob and I were newly engaged in 2004 and headed to the same spot where the coffee shop is to search for our first home.
I remember the excitement about spending the rest of our lives together and the adventure of buying our first property.
I also remember the frustration of finding the right house and how after searching all day, we found it, took my parents through at 6pm and made an offer. The offer was accepted and we had bought our first home.
Fast forward nearly 11.5 years later and we upgraded to a bigger family home, filled it with children and I’ve had a few career changes amongst the expansion.
After my brainstorming session and reminiscing at the lake, I jumped in the car to drive past our old house. The gardens we put in before selling were no longer there and those dreadful venetian blinds that our dog Bentley tried to destroy were replaced with a roller blinds. Not much had changed, but the outside looked old.
Sometimes it’s nice to go back and remember where we’ve come from in order to be thankful for where we are now.
I certainly don’t want to go back to living in those days, but it does excite me to think what our future days will hold.
If those 11.5 years have been packed with life, imagine the life that can be packed in the next decade or so?
The possibilities excite me. And they should excite you, no matter where you are at in life.
I challenge you to take a trip down memory lane and remember the good times, the happy memories that have shaped your life. Spend time to dwell on them and remind yourself how good life has been.
Because sometimes we forget and don’t remind ourselves how far we’ve come.
Do you look back and reminisce the good times? Are you hopeful about your future?
I’m linking with Essentially Jess for IBOT.
