Ten Things I Didn't Know Ten Years Ago

Ooops, I was going through my draft folder and realized that I actually had a finished post that I meant to publish last month on my birthday...still sitting in the draft folder... I could save it for next year, but the title "Ten things I Didn't Know Eleven Years Ago" doesn't have quite the same ring.  So, here this reflective piece is, a few weeks late :)



Ten years ago today, I was turning 18.  I had just graduated from high school, had traded in my Ford Tempo for a 2001 Ford Taurus (whut! whut!), and was prepping to start college in the fall.

If you would have asked me what my life would look like in ten years, I would have given you a very specific answer. (Ask my friends about our Senior Scrapbooks- we had plans for our plans :) ). Looking back, there was so much that I didn't know, so much that I needed to experience and learn.  Here are ten things (in no particular order) that 18-year-old me never would have predicted.

1. That reliable, predictable Katie would Q-U-I-T a "good" job in a "bad" economy with no safety net but the Good Lord...

(This is a shot of MOH Katie with the dollar dance money from S&S wedding, fyi, not my savings account in hand.)

 ...and that I would be blessed beyond measure.

2. That a priest would offer me a ministry position at a Church.  That I would tell him no for months and end up relenting.  And that it would be one of the best decisions that I have made.

3. That I would still be single.  (Sorry to be melancholy, but we've gotta speak the truth.)

4. That my Catholic faith wasn't a given to be taken for granted.  It would be challenged, attacked, pushed, and questioned.  And that by taking ownership of it I would open up a whole new world.

5. That I would enjoy gaining brothers-in-law so much.

6. That even when living in small towns, I would miss the smell of soil and grass and fresh air, the beauty of watching a storm blow in from an open horizon, the ability to walk outside and sit in a yard without a neighbor on the other side of a fence, the chance to watch things grow day by day... Even though I have lived in towns that are "rural" in most cases, I will still miss being in the country.

 

7. That I would actually become closer to my family when we lived apart.

8. That the "skills" I had fought against learning through 4-H would fuel a deep desire to craft (a lot), which would build friendships, spur creativity, help me be generous, and provide opportunities for service and hospitality.  Or that I would look back and learn to not take for granted the things I was taught by my mom and grandmothers.

9. That I would be writing thoughts and putting them out on that new internet thing.  And that some people (besides my mom) would actually be reading them.

10. That all my plans are worthless unless they fall within the will of God.

Who knows where I will be found or who I will be in ten years...if blogging is still a thing then and I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, we'll do part two of this post :) Check back in 2023!