Memory Lane

It's a slow news week here in Shafferland, and I have no complaints about that. Slow is good, right? Ryan and I have had a busy week, but it's not been the sort of busy that lends itself to great stories, and that is problematic when you have a blog! :) 

Before I hit today's post officially, I did want to say a giant thank you for all the kind words you left a couple of days ago when I wrote about blogging in general. I even got to hear from a few of you who are new friends for me, and that was fun. I appreciated your kindness, and I forgot ALL my manners in saying thanks yesterday! 

I've done a post like this a handful of times before, and I always find them fun in a nostalgic sort of way, so I'll do it again today. It's like the blogging version of Facebook memories. What was happening on this day in years past? Let's take a look!
 

* I didn't start blogging until the summer of 2006, so there isn't a January 21 post from that year. 

* In 2007, this day fell on a Sunday, and I'd been pushed into a burst of gratitude after watching George O'Malley say goodbye to his father on Grey's Anatomy. I haven't watched Grey's for years, but I was a faithful viewer in the early years, and George was one of my favorites. While reading through the aforementioned gratitude list, I see many staples of my life remain the same, lo these many years later: the same battles and the same joys. And the lessons God was teaching me back then made me smile today when I re-read the list. 

* Didn't write on the 21st back in 2008. I didn't blog every day back then, so I must have taken that day off. You're welcome.

* Didn't write on the 21st in 2009, either. Perhaps this was a day of the year in which I regularly found myself allergic to writing?

* I made up for it in 2010, when I wrote from a deep place in my heart about lessons I was learning. I appreciated being reminded of those today, and I also found it ironic that on that day, I longed for a weather delay at work. Just yesterday, one of our tenants called early in the morning to ask if I thought her work had a delay like the schools. Ahhhh, don't we all wish! I had to break it to her that not only did she not qualify for a delay, but we should probably leave early to allow for extra travel time. 

* It seems that in 2011, this day brought out not a deep Bekah, but a snarky Bekah. I really do try to avoid snark on the blog these days, but I confess if I had to repeat this experience, I would probably feel just about as delighted as I did that day. Waiting in long lines at the store for the win!

* 2012 found me baking on this day, so if you're looking for a rich and gooey recipe today, may I suggest these caramel surprise brownies? My photography was lackluster, but I assure you the recipe is NOT! In fact, I'm feeling a little hungry even now.

* 2013 was my first January as a wife! I was still in the throes of posting about our wedding and honeymoon, and this day provided all the funnies. I posted some of our outtakes and oopsies from our wedding day, and they made me laugh all over again today. Ahhhh, that world peace cry. The best. 

* I guess a year wasn't enough time, because in January of 2014, I was still posting about the wedding. I'd just gotten my dress back from the cleaners, where we'd had it preserved. (For those of you who may be new here...Ryan and I got married on a beach in Florida in December 2012 and then had a reception back at home in March of 2013. So I wore my dress twice. After the second wearing, we eventually took it to be cleaned and preserved.) I'd posted about that on Facebook and people shared their wedding dress horror stories, so I shared them on the blog that day! 

* In 2015, I was back in the kitchen on this day, but this time I made shredded pork loin. It's still one of our favorite recipes, though now that I think about it, we haven't made it for a while! Must remember this for my next menu plan! It's also ridiculously easy, so I highly recommend! 

* In 2016, this day was monumental: my little Bekahmobile hit 200,000 actual miles. Ryan documented it on his commute (I was already a stay-at-home-wife by that time) and we wondered how much longer that little car would serve us. Turns out...not too long! Not because it died or we wrecked it, but because in less than six months, we moved right next door to Ryan's work, didn't need three vehicles anymore, and sold it to one of my former WBCL co-workers. He bought it for his daughter to take to college, and I think eventually his son drove it and then they sold it to someone else. I wonder how many miles it has now?

* This day in 2017 landed on a Saturday, so I did a Saturday Six post, which featured a book I'd loved (still a great read, in my opinion) and some other fun finds. I know you'll have a whole new list in two days, but if you can't wait that long, here's a recycled one for you! 

* So of course it stands to reason that in 2018, this day was a Sunday and I was feeding you the weekly Shafferland Shuffle. I actually remember this week in living color. I had gotten sick with one of my legendary colds and one night, when we were still up at FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING because of my cough, Ryan got online and found me a telemed appointment. Such a newfangled thing back then. Who knew in a couple of years, it would be the norm? That was one nasty cold. I don't miss it. (Side note: it was also fun to read about the old carpooling days! Remember Brother and Sister that I drove to school every morning for a couple of years? They had the best one-liners.)

* In 2019, I also took a trip down memory lane on this day - but a different kind of trip. This was back when Ryan's mom was so sick and we were taking turns spending time out at the cabin to care for her while Allen worked or did chores. During one such shift, I'd stumbled upon a Facebook album full of pictures of things you might remember if you were a kid in the 70s or 80s. Need a laugh or two? Check it out again today! 

* And that brings us to last year! Last year on this day, I wrote about the new pastor that had just come to our church, after we had been without one for 18 months. Everything felt so promising that day, and we had no idea of so many major changes about to come our way. (Pandemic, moving, new jobs, you name it.) So on this day last year, I reflected on a day when my hair was MUCH shorter and my heart had an innocence about it that is gone forever now. We've all been impacted by this in a way that can never take us back to what we were. It's not necessarily a bad thing - or at least it doesn't have to be - but it's still true. What struck me most as I read over this post again was the challenge the pastor issued to us at the end of the service that day and how he asked us to step up to whatever God called us to do. Ryan and I were utterly overwhelmed that day, but we had no idea the emotion that poured over us had nothing to do with that church at all. God had a much bigger picture.

So much happened over the span of the years, didn't it? So much changed, and yet so much stayed the same, really, if you dig down deep. I'm grateful.