When I was twelve years old, my parents announced that we were moving. Dad had a new job, and so we were packing up and moving to the ‘burbs. Just as you would expect a moody sixth grader to react, I instantly resented my father for taking a new job. He was ruining my life!
It took a long time to adjust our new town. Junior high school was horrible, and I cried at my eighth grade graduation because I felt like I had no friends. High school was a little better, but not much. Going off to college, however, was great. I loved being a college student!
As the years go by, however, I realize how much I gained from this move from a small town to the city. If I hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have attended high school with such a great academic reputation. Maybe I wouldn’t have been accepted into the university I wanted to attend, the university I ended up loving. Without such a good education, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to get my Master’s degree at another university while I was working full time.
When I was in high school, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Unlucky, huh? But now we lived in the city where my mom could see the best doctors and get the best care. So when I was diagnosed with cancer 13 years later, I was referred to amazing doctors who gave me the best care as well.
Back when I was twelve, there was a boy who was much older than I was. He was sixteen. When I went to high school, he went to college. I knew of him, but I didn’t know him. He knew of me, but he didn’t know me. Both of us went to the same church on and off through the years. Finally, when we were both in our 30’s and still unmarried, we went out for breakfast after church.
Now we’ve been married for twelve years and have two children. What if we hadn’t moved when I was twelve years old? Would Ed and I have met?
It turns out my Dad didn’t ruin my life after all.
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Aww, sounded like in the end all is well that ended well and makes me more a believer in fate totally 😉
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I’ve got to stop reading this at work!!! Love you…Ed
Isn’t it amazing how something like that can change your life forever? I love thinking about how things that once seemed unfair were actually the best things for me. Great post!-Ashley
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I love that you are able to look back now and see how great that move really was!!! Hard to tell a 12 year old or 15 year old that things will really work out OK!!
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A lovely story! And I love that one comment! You know which one!
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Great post as always. We have had similar situations in our lives too which have led us to ask if we hadn’t done A would B still have happened? Such an interesting thought. This week I had a bad fall. I look horrible and was in a lot of pain. My face took the brunt of the fall, but if I hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t have seen all the love and kindness extended to me by my friends and family.
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It’s funny that four years seems like that much older than you.. but when you’re 12, it is! Cassidy is eight years older than me so there were times in life when we never would have crossed paths!
It’s all interesting how it turns out.
Ed is so sweet with his comment above.
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I think about this kind of stuff ALL the time. It think of it as the It’s a Wonderful Life Syndrome. You know, how would my life be different if someone hadn’t been born. Or if I hadn’t made a certain choice that changed everything. It’s really eye-opening, isn’t it? I guess it could either make someone depressed by the random nature of the world or make someone incredibly grateful for the hand of God that guides such things. I choose the latter.
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I moved right before 4th grade and it was traumatic for me. But then again, so many things would not have been possible if I has stayed where I was. I can see the good in that!
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