May 13, 2009

Most of the time, I'm not that nostalgic, although I do occasionally think about things that happened back in the past. Most of it has all been good times, so that helps, too.

But for the last several weeks, I have found myself thinking back twenty years ago. Seeing the date on the calendar, and remembering what happened on that day or around that time. I suppose 1989 was an eventful year for me, particularly in the springtime. So here's a look back at what was going on just twenty short years ago.

April 25, 1989: Our high school band left on a trip to go to Walt Disney World for a performance and a few days of fun. Thanks to some bus problems, we got to spend an entire day at a mall in Montgomery, Alabama. And then we got to drive all night to get to Florida in time for our performance the next day. Other than that one mishap, it was a great trip, a good performance, a fun few days in the parks. And I got to sit by a cute girl named Laura on the bus.

May 20, 1989: We had our annual Band Banquet, which was the first official date for Laura and me. I didn't even mind driving across town to pick her up, only to come back within a couple of miles of my house for the banquet. We had a nice picture of ourselves made, which I won't scare you away with here.

May 22, 1989: I graduated from high school. To be quite honest, I don't remember all that much about the graduation itself, or about the baccalaureate the day before. But I apparently did learn how to spell "baccalaureate", because I just looked it up, and I had spelled it correctly! Anyway, there were speeches, the band performed, and we all walked across the stage. Your typical high school graduation.

Summer 1989: Laura and I went on more dates instead of just stopping after the Band Banquet date. Fun times! And there were the other usual activities, such as our week-long church camp, and a trip to Walt Disney World with my parents, grandparents, sister, and cousin. The big movie of the summer was "Batman", which I did not see in the theater, although I did see "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", both with Laura, of course.

August 1989: I started college, which to me marked the end of my high school years even more than graduating in May had done.

And so, here we are, twenty years later. Four years after that time, Laura and I got married, and we will happily be celebrating our 16th anniversary later on this summer. And they have all been good years, with many blessings I never would have dreamed of way back then.

But I occasionally find myself looking back, remembering those good times of two decades ago. Wondering how twenty years could have passed, when all that seems like just a short time ago. But I never wonder how things might be different if I had made other choices. Instead, I'm very thankful for the choices I made, because they led me to where I am today.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12

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