12 Years Ago This Month

I graduated from high school. What the what??? Where did all that time go? And yesterday, as I watched my graduating seniors walk across the stage to receive their diplomas and step into their futures, I couldn't help but wonder where they will be in 12 years. Because what you don't know, as an 18 year old newly minted high school grad, is that the older you get, the faster the years slide by, until your life begins to feel like someone is holding down the fast-forward button on your DVR.

When I look back on the blur of minutes, hours, weeks, months and years that make up the last decade or so of my life, I sort of divide them into two categories: things I loved so much I wish I could do them all over again, and things I would do completely differently if given the chance. Some things that fall into the former category include high school (yes, I was one of those people who loved high school, I think that's why I ended up working in one), living by myself in my own apartment, our engagement, wedding, and honeymoon, and of course, being pregnant and having Sweetie Pea. And then there are the things that land in the latter of the two categories: college (there are a ton of things I would change about the way I approached college if I could go back in time), relationships that should have ended long before they actually did, buying our house (we couldn't have known beforehand how much we would miss renting, or how many things we would wish our home had that it doesn't), pets (which are really more fun when they belong to your parents), and all those times when I just wasn't true to myself. So Class of 2011, whoever you are and wherever you may be - know that hindsight is always 20/20, and no one is ever truly without regrets of some variety, but if you remain true to you - your values, goals, and ideals, you can minimize the number of life decisions that end up in the "things I would do differently" category of your memories. Congrats kiddos, and enjoy the ride!

June 1999, with my BFF since 3rd grade.

Don't ask me what was with those sausage curls, because I haven't the faintest idea what I was thinking. That hair definitely belongs on the "things I would do differently" list ;-) Interesting facts: there were 575 students in my graduating class. My cap was decorated with the colors and name of the college I was headed to, along with the words to Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." On the day of my high school graduation, I had every intention of majoring in biology and becoming a veterinarian.

June 2011, with my BFF since August 2010.

Last year at graduation I was 8 months pregnant and that gown made me look like a giant academic whale. And Sweets was sitting on my bladder throughout the entire ceremony:

This year that was thankfully not the case. Interesting facts: since I had nowhere to safely store my belongings during the ceremony, I stuck my keys and lipgloss in those silly-looking sleeves. Start to finish, our ceremony was 55 minutes long. Excellent. Following the ceremony, my friend M and I split a bottle of wine, and had Sweets and I not been crashing at my parents' for the night, I would not have been able to drive home. That's what happens when you haven't had a proper drink in nearly two years (9 months of pregnancy + 11 months of nursing).

Bring on the summer!