New chapters

I look at my life and think of it as chapters in a book. I've come to the conclusion that my life is writing a novel that may be quite lengthy, as it is already comprised of many chapters. Some chapters have begun by choice and others by necessity. Just a few that come to mind are-

When I had my first child ...
When I got married ...
When I moved away from home/family ...
When I got divorced ...
When I decided to get healthy and start running ...
When I decided to go back to grad school ...
When my kids left home ...


As I look at these chapters, I realize that perspective is a really important factor. Most of my life I have only understood by looking back, after I had experienced it. In the moment, I had little perspective. That reminds me of the saying, "Life must be lived forwards but only understood backwards." There is a lot of truth in that statement.

Some of these chapters I want to read over and over, some I want to use as a reference tool, and some I want to forget entirely. In the end, these are the chapters that make up my life. They are the experiences that have made me who I am today ... good and bad. I've learned that it is important to know the difference between the good and bad.

Someone used to say to me, "It's never to late to start your day over." Well. I believe it's never too late to start a new chapter. So, I am embarking on a new chapter now. This one by choice. I think it's going to be a good chapter ... one I may want to read over and over.