The 10-year-challenge

The fact that it took me almost a month to write this post proves that I have Alzheimer’s. For someone who really has a hard time answering what I had for dinner last night, the ten year challenge is a task.

And yet, I want to do this. Look, compare, reflect, smile and laugh over the thought of how far I have come.

A glance at my old picture is testimony that I have gained a lot, a lot of weight! Some might even say brains and best friends will know that it’s everything from career plans to the guy I would marry, shying away to successful networking, Friday night-outs to Sunday morning marathons, baby phobia to baby planning… I have come a real long way.

Pardon me if I sound like the ad commercial of how ugly and isolated I was because of my dark skin till I finally found a fairness cream which got me a crowd of admirers and a handsome knight in shining armour! Oh, did I mention the paparazzi?!!

My story has none of this, only a bit more drama!

The 10-Year-Challenge!

2009 was the time I stepped out of teenage and stumbled upon adulthood, though some of my actions may be poor evidence to this. Acquaintances became friends, close friends stayed back when everyone left, love didn’t always work out, jobs didn’t always bring contentment but years kept adding up to wonderful times.

I saw the world change, took in its complexities, read and formed opinions on world politics, accumulated wealth, invested it well, invested in great people, formed irreplaceable unbreakable bonds, saw some cracks going there and learnt how to mend them.

Relationships in various equations tried and tested us. With besties, it was easier to have a ball of a time, celebrating bachelorette to watching them take their wedding vows. We stayed together through thick and thin, being together at the loss of a family member and still together when putting up with broken hearts.

On a much personal front, this ten year old journey was the entire lifetime for my puppy, who travelled from squeaky yelps to growling barks! He stayed with me on the phone, jumped at the door each time I went home and stood firm each time I needed a long hug. From age 5 to 16, he aged more than I did. He eats way less now, can’t afford to jump anymore and rarely barks but sways that tail happily when he knows it’s me. Two more years of that tiny heart and he will enter the world record and I can’t wait to see him crack it!

I think there is a lot to be thankful for, less to complain about and definitely a lot to look forward to. They say at 30, it’s okay to call it mid-life crisis but not just yet. What if I am in for a total 100? After all, I keep discovering something new about me every day and I would like to keep that way. 

For now, I’m happy to be complimented for my unchanged smile and it would be interesting to watch it in my older version, only minus the set of crooked teeth. But that’s no reason for me to stop grinning, is it?