Entering A New Decade

10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90...

Becoming ten years older doesn't happen over night.  It takes time to age a decade's worth.  Precisely, it takes ten years.  But, next Friday I will go to sleep in one decade and wake up in another.

Though, I am still in too much denial to admit which number above I will be entering, rest assured it's not on the two extremes of the spectrum.  I will not be turning 10, nor will I be turning 90 just yet.

I thought I would just share random thoughts of this homeschooling mama entering a new decade of life.  So, grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit with me a moment to just contemplate:

I cannot believe I have lived this many years, though there are plenty of days my body now reminds me.

I remember my daughter being so excited to turn 10.  I wish I shared her excitement.

I have loved the decade I am leaving.  In fact, I have loved it the most of any I had previously entered.

I was always such a small person. In high school, my swimming coach told me to gain weight. In my 20's, a nurse practitioner told me to gain weight.  The heaviest I was, even at 9 months pregnant, never exceeded problem status.  However, now I find myself having difficulty losing weight and seemingly packing on the pounds faster than I can say "GO".  What happened?  I need to lose about as many pounds as the decade I am turning....  So, I figure that will be my birthday gift to myself - lose the extra weight and try to hang onto some quality of life while I still can.

I hope that I will acquire more wisdom and more peace as I grow even older.

I am happy that I have had the privilege of bringing three children into the world and the privilege of educating them at home.

When I was entering my last decade, I was struggling with the feelings that came with the loss of two pregnancies, and had no idea I would lose another before getting my miracle last child.  I'm so glad that I will be entering this new decade with a new perspective and no grief.

Even though my mother will be facing entering an almost 30-year decade ahead of me soon, I probably have more gray hair than she ever will have.  She does not dye her hair, yet it is jet black.  How does that happen?

That's probably about as many random thoughts about my birthday that any reader can handle upon one sitting, so I will close.

On my birthday, I plan on eating Chinese food and hopefully some cake.  After that, I will be frantically packing for a four-week music tour where my husband will perform music, and the kids and I will learn on the road.  When I return, I hope to be part way into losing those extra decades of pounds I was talking about earlier.

Goals for this next decade:

Spend more time with my children, teaching them and loving them and showing them how much value they are to God.  At the same time, working hard to get out of debt and provide a future inheritance for my children financially as well as spiritually.

And, sewing...  I want to do more sewing.  I've been told that I have a creative eye for design in children's clothing, and I'd love to pursue that for profit..  I suppose, though, I should dig out my sewing machine and find a place where I can actually use it in the house, first!