I am it!

Twenty years ago... I was 13 years old and was still living in Quito. I honestly don't remember much from that year except for the obvious. I was in 7th grade and my priorities were highly centered around going to school and my friends but beyond that I can't say. My rebellion would not flourish until the following year.

Ten years ago... I was 23 years old and I had just graduated college. This was a very significant year in my life. It was during my last semester in college that the idea of moving to the United States started taking roots and developing. In January of that year, a friend of mine was able to help me get placed in the Marriott's International Trainee's programme. By the time I graduated I had all the paperwork in place and while I briefly did some job search in the Spring, my efforts quickly shifted toward my departure. After graduation I got a temporary job to help pay my bills but my main priority that summer was partying. I had no real responsibilities and the perfect excuse, so party I did! On August 31st I hopped into a plane (along with 3 LARGE suitcases and my dog Marx) with a one way ticket, that plane landed in New York City. There I stayed for a month at a friend's house and partied some more! I was due to start working at the Camelback Inn on October 8th, so in September I headed toward Phoenix and that is how 10 years ago, almost to the day, I arrived to the Valley (if you were at the retreat this past weekend, now you know it was aboard a semi-truck).

That year (1998) was probably one of the hardest ones I have on record because my life was a true dichotomy. That year I ended a long term relationship and although everything, aside from the broken heart, seemed to be in flying colors as I graduated with honors and was accepted into one of the most prestigious International Management Programmes in my field, my soul was empty! I was alone in a strange land, I was a foreigner, I was navigating under a worldly compass. It was then that after leading me into the desert, He spoke to me tenderly, made the Valley of the Sun a door of hope (Hosea 2:14-15) and gave me back the years the locusts eat (Joel 2).

Five years ago... I was 28 and life was much different. During the previous five years God did lots of work in my life. Mainly softened my heart, purified my thoughts and gave me a clear compass to follow. I had been working at Prudential for 3 years and Mike and I had been married that long as well. That year, we lost baby Terry and were praying for and working hard at conceiving Gabriel :o) Gabriel was indeed conceived and so we started planning our next phase in life. One where I would be a full time mami. It was that year that my love for running started growing.

Three years ago... I was 30. Gabriel had just turned one, I was now a stay home mom and Monica and I were training for the Women's Adventure Race and for the PF Chang's Half Marathon (that was my first one).

One year ago... I was 32, Gabriel was just over three years old and Doménica still a nursing infant. We had just come back from Ecuador from visiting my family and enjoying our late summer vacation, we had been living in our new house for barely three months and loving it! I also started working PT for Prudential (though only temporarily) and my mom came to live with us (also temporarily). Also Gabriel started preschool. Fiuuu, busy year!

Today... I am 33, Mike and I have been married for 8 years. Gabriel is just over 4 years old and still in preschool and Doménica has blossomed into a beautiful little girl with a full vocabulary and a love for music. Today I am also the President of MOMS club, a group that supports stay at home moms and I am again waiting to hear back from Prudential on a start date for yet another PT job/project. And I am again training for another half marathon and the 7 summits challenge.

Tomorrow is Tuesday and I intend to get up early to run a few miles and come back to get ready to host a play group. We are planning on having the kids make their own little pizzas and I promised myself I won't fuss over a kitchen covered in flour and shredded cheese.

Next year... I will be 34 and Mike and I would have celebrated our 9th anniversary, Gabriel will be 5 and attending kindergarten. Doménica will be on her way to turning three and hopefully still attending BSF, if they let me in again! I hope they do since my sanctification process will much need it. Beyond that, I think I know better than trying to plan our future. I can only hope, along with Theresa, that I will know God better, love my husband and my children more and would have learned (by lots of practice) how to be more intentional in my relationships including, of course, the four most important ones I have: God, Mike, Gabriel and Doménica.

This was fun, thanks Theresa for tagging me! Now I am tagging Alexis, Mandy, Andrea and Lynn.