What Was Then Isn't Now

I just read a great story over at Where the Walls Are Soft called "If a Car Hits a Tree in the Forest..." that got me thinking about comparisons and differences. You know, just the idle thought here and there. Les tells about the times she thought for sure her parents didn't know what she was up to as a teenager, then was caught red-handed. I laughed and laughed; mostly because I remembered thinking the same thing. Don't we all?

Lately, the differences between back then and now are pretty dramatic, and I don't even have to think back too far...

For instance. Take a look at this photo. Yep, those are fingernail clippers and toenail clippers and a fingernail file. What's also in that photo are nippers to trim a horse's hooves, and a rasp to file them down. Quite a huge difference in size -- and weight. Yesterday, I was out there wrestling with those nippers and rasp trying to trim my horse's feet. I managed to get one and a half feet done before I couldn't lift my arms anymore. What a weakling!

A friend of mine is out of town this weekend, having had to travel "home" for an appointment. She visited a relative, got the appointment out of the way, then looked up former coworkers. Glad to see her, they invited her over for a girls night out -- only, they're not going out, they're just meeting at one of the girls' home to sit and chat. All I could think while she was telling me her plans is that I was sure glad I didn't have to go anywhere. What a bore!

I've been looking in the mirror lately and contemplating whether to color my hair again, or let it show its true color, which is primarily gray at this point. How in the world do you ever decide something like that? True, my body feels its age more and more, but in my mind, I'm not much older than oh, say, 40 or so. No, let's say 39 instead. You don't expect people in their 30's to be gray. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever really grow up. That just wouldn't be fun. What a goof!

You should see all the stuff I have to go through to take a decent photo. I was running back and forth through the house for I don't know how long looking for my glasses. I need the bifocals to see the itty-bitty screen on my camera. I usually take my glasses off when I set my car keys down, but they weren't there. I found them in the bathroom next to the fingernail clippers that I was also looking for. But, I was bound and determined to get a photo, and there it is. Now, I'm exhausted. What a light-weight!

Thinking about Les's post a bit more, there's a lot to be said about who you are, how you are your set of experiences and adventures throughout life. If you made mistakes in the past, that's exactly where they are -- in the past. If you are remotely working on half a brain cell, you learned from those mistakes. Maybe you weren't aware of the lesson at the time, but now when you look back, it smacks you a good one right between the eyes. It's the lessons of life that you take with you into tomorrow. What a philosopher!

So, on that relatively heavy note, I'm going to head to bed. I've got to trim the rest of that horse's feet tomorrow!