January 2009, Where did it go? (photos from a walk in the woods)

How did it get to be 2009? I remember when I was a sophomore at Ben Lomond High School, we chanted the year we would graduate at the Pep Rallies. We yelled out 81 and thought we were the future. My Mom insisted that I take a typing class. That way I could always get a job as a Secretary (Mom was Secretary for the local Teamsters Union). When I was a senior, dear old Ben Lomond got it's first computer. Not for the students (why would students need a computer), but for the office. They only had one, why would they need more?

Before we got married, my Hubby and I were looking at Real Estate Catalogs. We saw a big old house on a few acres that was adjacent to a national forest. We agreed that it sounded like a dream home. When I enlisted in the Air Force, my recruiter talked me into signing up for 6 years instead of 4. My first military ID card had 1990 for an expiration date. That seemed such an amazing long time. I was only going to do one tour. After the 6 years was up, I was going to get out and get a job fixing radios and TVs.

The Air Force sent me to Mountain Home Idaho after Tech School. That just renewed my determination to get out as soon as I could. After 13 long months, I got orders to RAF Upper Heyford England. Life changed again.

We loved England. When we had time off, my sweet Hubby and I traveled all over the place. I knew my way around certain parts of London and even went to Birmingham on my own for a couple of conferences. We toured Britain from one end to the other. I have a wonderful photo my sweetheart took of me sitting on the "Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lomond" (our High School

song was a corrupted version of that old standard).

We took the ferry to the coast of France several times and spent a week in Morocco. We visited Bruges, Paris, and Venice. When the time came
to get out, we were having way to much fun. We reenlisted for 4 more years. That changed the date on my ID card to 1994.
Before that enlistment ended, the AF sent us to Cannon Air Force Base New Mexico. Life changed again. We found a lovely house on some land and we went nuts with the garden. We would put down roots and make a home. In 1997 (wait a minute, 13 years? I was only going to stay for 6) we got orders to Charleston. The years flew by there too. As retirement got closer (2004, hey that's a whole nother century) we started looking for a place to settle. When my Sweetheart found
this place on the Internet, a lovely old house, a few acres and within walking distance from a national forest, it was just right.
All of today's photos were taken on a walk the other night. The two camellias are from a bush in my front yard. They have been blooming for about a week.

I asked where the time went, how it got to be 2009. It doesn't seem like a long time at all.
Maybe 2033 (our 50th wedding anniversary) isn't that far away after all.

May your road be smooth and your life full of beauty for the year 2009.

Kat