Sleepless in Madison...

Here it is, 4:21am, and I'm wide awake.

Maybe it's the excitement of Mardi Gras...

No...that's not it.

Chinese New Year? (It's the year of the TIGER!!!)...

No...not that.

Maybe it's dreams (nightmares) about my office.

It's a work in progress...and I tend to ponder those alot when I should be sleeping. But tonight, I don't think that's what's keeping me awake.

Maybe it's because when I was cleaning stuff out yesterday, I found this picture:

And I wondered how I went from that to this:

The realization hit me yesterday that Nicole is 27 years old...the same age I was in the photo of us above. That photo was taken 25 years ago! And I remember everything about that day...from getting dressed, going to the photo studio, how Nicole made us all laugh...like it was yesterday.

I had some serious flashbacks yesterday as I thumbed through some old photo albums (a no-no when cleaning/organizing. The goal yesterday was to clear everything out. Period. But I couldn't resist). I really saw time pass before my eyes as I looked at these old photos:

That's me...with a waistline I'll probably never see again, looking all bridal-veil-ish with the fountain at USM behind me (Was that planned? Larry took this photo while we were dating...). The 'fro is hot, don't you think?

Speaking of HOT, how about these two babes?

That's my sister, Sarah, and me, hamming it up at the Germantown Fire Department!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We were so young, and too stupid to know that those big glasses weren't flattering on anyone...

 
 
And we were totally clueless as to how this little pink bundle o' joy was going to change our lives in such a huge way...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We had no idea how simple life was then...and that we were only just beginning the journey of a lifetime...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Or that our hearts could ever feel as much love as they could for a child...
 
 
 
 
 
 
And we wondered if we could ever love anyone as much as we loved that little girl...
 

 

Then along came...

 

 

...Joe. The sweetest little boy ever!

He was ALL boy...all the time...and he turned our lives upside down and inside out in a fun and crazy way, and he made us laugh all the time.
 
But somehow, in the blink of an eye, something happened.
 
This little boy with his frog boots began to grow up.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

And before I knew it...my babies were adults. And our lives are rich and full...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Except the people around us keep getting older...

And a look in the mirror tells us we are too...

So I guess I just don't want to sleep, because I want to savor every drop of this wonderful life that I can...

 

Only, I'm too sleepy, and I've spent the last hour writing this....

 

And I'm thinking if there is such a thing as "beauty rest," I need to grab some while I can!

 

 

 

 

 
Blessings to all who read this!

Susan