I have a love hate relationship with the Memories feature on Facebook. It’s really great for helping with things like remembering good times. I love seeing old pictures of myself and my friends and family. Some videos and memes still make me laugh year after year. Then there’s the dumb stuff that makes you think, “Jesus Lord! What the hell was I doing with my life?!” Yesterday I had 2 Facebook memories from 9 years ago that made me laugh at my younger self.
Ya’ll… I couldn’t recall who the hell I was talking about to save my life! Beyond that, the second one is just weird an unnecessarily descriptive. (Dear Past Diana, telling the internet that you slept on the couch with your boyfriend isn’t cool.) After some mental math and digging into my old Facebook photos I figured out who it was. This isn’t to say that I dated an insane amount of people. Maybe 12 from high school till The Hubs and I met? It’s just been so long that clearly this person who I thought was the bomb.com didn’t turn out to be THAT important to the grand scheme of my life. I sure thought they were at the time though. (Yes Mom, I know. You were right. I can feel you making a face right now while you read this.)
People often say that the days are long but the years are short. It’s so true. So many times I thought I had my path all figured out and then, not long after, life took a turn and I was having to build again. Friends have come and gone, I’ve changed careers, and my family has grown exponentially. It’s all happened so fast yet, in the moment, it took forever. I’m sure that one day I’ll look back on this time in my life and find things to make fun of myself for too.
It’s good to have reminders sometimes that you have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Obviously, that boyfriend wasn’t a struggle to get over, but other memories remind me of trying times. I know that soon I’ll have a Facebook memory reminding me of the anniversary of my Uncle’s suicide. I will read it and fall apart. Then I’ll do what I do every year on his birthday and the anniversary of his death, I’ll celebrate his life.
I like to say, “this too shall pass. It may pass like a kidney stone, but it shall pass.” It’s helpful to remember your bad times and the dumb things you did on occasion. They give you strength to make it through when we feel like we won’t survive.
Mom Van Confessions 