This weekend I drove back to Fredericksburg to shoot my long time friend (and college roommate) Sara's wedding. Being there with her bridesmaids and wedding guests was like attending a mini high school class reunion. After driving back home today, I spent the afternoon feeling a bit nostalgic.
As one might imagine, it can get a bit lonely around here with my husband's absence. Loneliness and nostalgia is not the best combination. Hah. So, I pulled out my yearbooks from high school and started reading the old messages that friends had written. Some of the messages made me laugh, some made me sad. Some made me question why I asked the person to write in my yearbook at all. ;) But mostly I just reflected on how crazy insane life can be. I thought about the paths that we all took after we walked off of that football field where our graduation ceremony was held. The different directions that we took really blows my mind.
Sometimes I imagine what it would be like if we could go back to high school with all that we've learned these past ten years and do it all over again. How would we treat one another? Where would we choose to focus our energy? Who would we spend our time with? How would our priorities change?
Just... thoughts. Fond memories, lessons learned. And again, I am reminded of the place I called home for so many years. As I flip the pages, I am reunited with memories that serve as the opening paragraphs of my life story. Those first big life lessons... they fall in between the hallways of that high school.
And I was surprised by the emotion that flooded my heart as newspaper clippings fell out that recall that tragic holiday season in 2004.
Nostalgia. That about sums up how I feel tonight.
To end this pointless ramble on a positive note... I am grateful for time, healing, and perspective. And forgiveness. :)
