-20, -15, -10, -5 and 5, 10, 15, 20

No, I'm not skip counting.

Every so often we set goals in our family. Usually they are for the week, or month or season. At the beginning of the year though we set more long term goals. This got me to thinking about where I've been, and where I'm going. Not in a navel-gazing sort of way, but hopefully in a way that spurs me on to meeting the goals and challenges of my life, if that's the Lord's will in those matters.

So, I invite you to do the same for yourself. I'd love to read about where you've been, and where you're headed. This will be a series of posts, and I'll add to it as I can.

20 years ago --November 1987

Hubby and I were almost ready to celebrate our first anniversary. I was a paralegal working in a mid-size firm (for this area - we had 9 full-time attorneys in the office). Hubby was doing double E stuff (that's Electrical Engineering for those not familiar with that acronym) relating to carboratorless cars.

We were definitely yuppies -- upwardly mobile professionals without children.

Hubby decided that our first anniversary would be a surprise. He teased me for weeks prior telling me we were "going away" and not cluing me in to where we were going. He wouldn't even hint at what to wear -- not that he always cared as much as I did about things, but he respected that I cared about those things.

We ended up at Cheyenne Mountain Resort which was gorgeous and a place neither of us had been despite our numerous years in the area. Hubby surprised me a sapphire ring. He remembered the wedding cake we had saved in our freezer and had the waiter serve it to us for dessert! We had the same kind of sparkling wine we had in the car ride from the church to the reception the year before.

Those who have children probably can relate to the amazement you feel at looking back at the time in your life before children, around here we affectionately call it BC. I find it amusing to recall my life from then. My house was always clean, even though I worked full-time. We ate out a lot! We took week-end trips, to Cripple Creek (prior to the gambling law ruining that quaint mountain village), Denver, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque (to visit my brother). We also had real vacations, to San Francisco (to see a college buddy of mine who was stationed at the Presido, Ed died two years later of a cancerous brain tumor), Lake Tahoe, Sacramento (to see hubby's sister) and to Phoenix (I didn't enjoy that trip at all, but that's another story).

We pretty much did whatever we wanted on our time off from work. Having that much discretionary time and the funds to do what we wanted seems so foreign to me now. I'm not bemoaning my present state, just recalling the difference between then and now.

We read a lot more. Not only the newspaper daily, but books (on the then-current best seller lists) and magazines before the next issue arrived.

We were outside a lot more too, as I recall our tans (not that we were intentional about them, it just happens when you're outside in the summer) and our hair being sunbleached.

We spent lots of time with friends, going out, staying in, whatever. And we had gobs of friends. Friends from when we were in high school, college, from various jobs and clubs we belonged to. Hubby had friends from sports teams, too.

And that's another thing... hubby played in two basketball leagues in the winter and played in a softball league in the spring. So that involved practices, games and get-togethers.

I remember being well-rested and having a very low stress-level, even when the pressures of my job were heavy (we had some cases go to trial that broke my heart because they dealt with such serious crimes such as child abuse and habitual drunk driving). Somehow at that age I was able to leave those worries at work and concentrate on my husband, family and friends when I wasn't. I'm uncertain if I retain that characteristic now. I think through the years I've become accustomed to worrying more. Maybe that's just a natural part of aging and becoming a parent... what do you think?

I look back at that time with fondness as it is filled with love and affection and great times with people we loved.