Thursday, June 6, 2013

Turning Points

Last week, when I first saw the topic for this week's Finish The Sentence Friday, my wheels immediately started turning.  "I hit a turning point in my life when  . . . ."

At first, I thought about the big ones - marriage, having kids.  Then, I decided those were too obvious.  I wanted to write about something more personal; more unique to me and my life.  So, I dug deeper and came up with a few more possibilities:

 - Going to college - I grew up in a small town where my older brother was an athletic star and student body president.  BOTH my parents were teachers at my high school.  Being on my own in a college dorm that was a couple hours away from home, away from the magnifying glass, was a sense of freedom that I had never experienced before.  

 - Finally being free from psoriasis - I was diagnosed with psoriasis when I was 9.  For years, I slathered on creams, tried different kinds of treatments in an attempt keep it in check, and let my self image crumble mostly silently.  I hated it with a passion.  (In fact, I still don't talk about it much.)  Eventually, I stumbled upon a cure - pregnancy.  There was someone new looking back at me from the mirror in so many ways.

 - Deciding to be a stay at home mom - a decision that was not made lightly.

 - Starting my blog - I started it on a whim and never imagined the connections it would allow me to make.

I continued mulling these over for a few days, trying to decide on which one to focus.

Coincidentally, this week was also my kids' last week of school.  Monday, I woke each of them up cheering "It's your last Monday of kindergarten/2nd grade/elementary school!"  Today, Friday, as many of you are reading this, I am at their school watching them get their final awards as they finish their respective grades.  I'll also be watching my oldest "graduate" from 5th grade and prepare to begin middle school on the fall - a turning point; certainly for her as well as for me.

At some point during this crazy, busy week as I made my way through all the celebrations with all of these thoughts swirling through my head, I realized that our lives are chock full of turning points.  Some of them are big; some are small.  Some we find hard to swallow; some we gladly embrace.  Some we don't even recognize as turning points until later on.

It is these turning points, though, that make life interesting.  If everything always stayed the same, there would be no sense of progress; no excitement; no struggles; no sense of joy when we come out on the other side.  I realized that I simply cannot single out one individual turning point that has been more significant than any other because it is all of them together - big, small, good, bad, happy, sad - that have made my life what it is right now.  And, I wouldn't change any of them because right now is pretty good -no, right now  is really, really good - just the way it is! :-)



Finish the Sentence Friday



This post was written as part of Finish The Sentence Friday which is hosted by the following bloggers.  Please give them a visit and see all the other blogs that participate as well!


Stephanie at Mommy, for Real

25 comments:

Janine Huldie said...

First off, congrats on the end of school this week and all it brings all with it. I ended up picking meeting my husband. Possibly obvious, but really changed so much for the better for me. I could have chosen quite a few others (like you life is truly about different moments that define us), too but I stuck with one that one. Thank you for linking up with us again and have a wonderful day tomorrow!! :) :)

Karen said...

wow, congrats to all your kids on big changes and you as their mom. I totally agree, we don't realize it's a turning point till we can sit back and look at it. Then we are amazed at how we made it through.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Janine!! Can't wait to read yours - That's a good one! I figure I'll have to do that one in a separate post someday seeing as how it's pretty funny. :-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Karen! It is still sinking in that I have a middle-schooler now! I know it's a turning point, but its full effect has yet to be determined!

Stephanie Sprenger said...

You are so right about the impact of turning points- I was listing as many of mine as I could think of in my own head. All the school milestones are so bittersweet aren't they? And wow, amazing that pregnancy cured your psoriasis! That is incredible! I love what you came up with for this, and I'm so glad you linked up!

Kerri Ames said...

You are right, there are many turning points. I guess the point is to once a while look into the rear view mirror!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Stephanie! The school milestones are indeed very bittersweet!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

The rear view mirror is a great analogy!

Considerer said...

That's true - it's tough to say that this one or that one is more important when they all help to make us the people we are today.

The Dose of Reality said...

Love this. It is all the moments where things change that make us who we are. Definitely the post I needed to read today.-Ashley

clarkfarley said...

exactly! the perspective of (each) turning point shows it to be significant yet always in a certain context. It is the look back that imbues the moment, the turning point with significance, rarely ever is it the look forward.

Kiera @Easytravelmom said...

Isn't it true that there are so many turning points in life. I think for me it's the turning points that are big that scare me! I feel like we are constantly being asked "which way would you like to go?" and I don't want to make a wrong turn!

Betty boop said...

Life is about constant change. If you aren't changing your are stagnant. All of those changes make up our lives. I'm glad the turning points in your life have made you who you are today.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Glad you enjoyed it, Ashley!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Very true!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

It can definitely be scary! I usually tend to overanalyze, but sometime you just have to go with your gut and hope for the best!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thank you so much!

Kristi Rieger Campbell said...

Becoming a SAHM must have been one of the hardest things I did. There are indeed so many turning points in life and I love that you, too, acknowledged many of them. (I did, too for FTSF)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Kristi! I'll be sure to check out your post, too!

MommiFried said...

Change seems to be neverending - even when we try to hide from it! I have to agree. Starting my blog was a turning point as well. I have met so many wonderful people and made some great friends! Great post!

From Tracie said...

So often it is those really big turning points that we don't recognize until further down the road.


I love that your right now is really really good. That is a wonderful thing.

Kenya G. Johnson said...

Cheers to turning points and pregnancy curing Psoriasis. How about that? Last day of school here is Monday. I think I'll do your cheer (2nd grade) ;-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks! It is definitely never ending!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Tracie! I love that too! :-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Cheers! Good luck on Monday!

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