Then and Now

My little sister just started band yesterday.
Which has triggered for me a deluge of introspective musings on how life changes, and how we change through the course of time.
See, I used to be in band. Let me word that differently: I used to live FOR band. I signed up for every conceivable music class on Wednesdays (in retrospect, I realize those classes cost money. Thanks Mom and Dad! :)...Chorale, Concert Band, Bell Choir, Girl's Choir, Brass Quintet, Symphony Orchestra, and a jazzy-ish ensemble called 'Horns of Glory'. Literally - all of those in one day!
And I loved it SO much.

So when I heard that Ivey had started beginning band, I began to reminisce on old times...and what a different person I was! Well, not different...but I had a completely different life then. One of Ivey's friends said to Ivey, "Are you Briana's sister? She's like...famous!"
I laughed, because in a small sort of way, I was "famous" back then. But now? The title would never fit. Then, I couldn't wait to hang out with my friends...I dearly loved spending EVERY moment doing social things, and I had a very large group of buddies.
Flash forward 7 years, and my life has significantly condensed itself. In some ways, I would say I've become the opposite of what I used to be. Hanging out with friends not only doesn't happen very often, but it's sometimes a stressful thing to even think about beforehand.
But don't misunderstand me...I'm not unhappy. There are times that I think fondly of those carefree teenage years- and I always will- but my current contentment overshadows any longings for the "old days".
I love my little home, and my husband, and my child. I love spending my weekends with my family. I'm perfectly content with things how they are, and I'm pretty confident that as my baby (and future children) grow older, I'll start widening my horizons a bit again. Maybe hanging out with friends will once again become a big part of my life. Maybe I'll be "famous" again (hehe... a little facetiousness there for ya. Or as we say in the VanderToorn home: Fuh-shee-shushness).
(Spoiler alert: I even have a long-term goal of returning to the homeschool bands to teach someday! :) 
It's just interesting to me that even just 5 years can so drastically change a person.
What will I be like in another 5 years? I'll be 30 then...probably leading passel of kiddos smeared with peanut butter and jelly remnants, juggling a baby, a diaper bag, and a grocery cart.
But what will I be LIKE? Because circumstances do not necessarily change a person, nor can they stop one from becoming something new.

Well, look at me! I did the laundry, the dishes, mopped the floor and wrote a weblog! I'm basically super woman! *pats self on back*
;)
Glad tidings of great joy! (Getting in the Christmas spirit early, due to being an elementary music teacher)

~Bri