062262

062262

today's date - minus 48 years

my birthday

a date that I will have for the rest of my life

a date that defines me and others born on this day

and as I am approaching that big "50" in a few years, I began to reminisce about the old days

you know, the days when your life was carefree and someone else took care of you

days when all you had to do was get up, get dressed, eat and play

the days of my youth

so happy and content we must have been as wee little ones

having a mommy and daddy to take care of us

and not a care in the world

growing up in a nurturing home really makes a difference on how we as children

grow up to be the men and women that we are today

and believing in Santa Claus made our Christmases each year come to life

having siblings helped us to learn the skills of sharing, caring, and arguing

having a special toy taught us to love and care for someone

taking time to smell the flowers showed us the simple things in life

and at a young age we are taught the importance of being "stylish"

and I'll have you know the pixie haircut was very "in" back then too

as you can see in all these photos of me

in fact, the pixie haircut was "in" for all the children in this family

going to grandma's house for Christmas happened every year

as well as the portrait taken next to her Christmas tree in the formal living room

then there were those good ol' summer vacations that were spent exploring new sights

and always wearing our cool digs

our life as children chronicled in the photos taken at different stages of our lives

and there were many portraits taken of us

and here come the school photos

so young and innocent

I think I was trying to go for the "twiggy" look here

but couldn't quite pull it off

then the milestone of graduation

this is when things change - this is when we get serious about life

who do we want to be? - what do we want to do in life? - what does our future hold for us?

little did we know that our destinies were already planned out for us

known before we knew ourselves

and while we may have been walking down a certain road not knowing where it would lead

our master planner of our lives already knew

He let us have our "growing" room

room to spread our wings and become individuals

experiencing life and all it has to give us

but still - He had a plan for us

He, the one who loves us unconditionally

had a plan just for us

and when things happen that change your life in a blink of an eye

He already knew that "change" was going to happen

And He knew of our future and what it held for us

and the many roads that we would walk down

and the many side paths we would take

that would lead us to where we are right now

He was there all along walking right beside me - guiding me - loving me

and I should know after all these years of being taken care of

that I do not have a thing to worry about as I approach 50 or 60 or 70

for right beside me will be my Father watching over me

walking beside me while I take this future journey

a journey that has already been laid out before me

a journey that will lead me down the road

on the path of my life

full of surprises

full of wonder

full of twists and turns

A life that is FULL