Otilia, from Romanian Mum inspired by MrsB, from Mind over Matter wrote a lovely post the other day that got me thinking.

The whole idea came from the book MrsB is reading at the moment, “What Alice Forgot” and the amnesia that the heroine goes through following a fall, causing her to forget the last 10 years of her life. That caused a blog roll, in the true sense, and here I am, considering myself my life and the many changes I have been through in the last 10 years!

If I was Alice and woke up tomorrow morning thinking it was the 20th of November 2003, I would be:

• Totally bewildered that I no longer live in Romania, in the same apartment I used to live with my parents and younger brother.
• Surprised I am no longer a university student, as I was back in 2003.
• Pleasantly surprised to find a handsome, loving man calling himself my husband 🙂
• Mesmerised and over the moon with this beautiful and clever girl who calls me mummy and my growing bump. I had always wanted two children and here, my dreams are coming true!
• Probably have to re-learn to drive. I only learned to drive after I moved to Northern Ireland, in 2007!
• Re-acquainting myself with all our Irish friends and our church. I would be pleased to find out I’m attending a lively church, with caring members, as I’d imagined I would be back in the day.
• Surprised to find out some of my old friends are no longer my friends, not as close as we used to be, anyway…
• Overwhelmed to find out we have moved house 7 times in the last 7 years, one house for every year I was married!!
• Disappointed that I haven’t managed to secure a steady job as I had imagined myself I would by this age but amazed with the versatility and adaptability I had proved over the years as a substitute teacher, blogger, wife and mummy.
• Have forgotten all the important life lessons I have learned in the last 10 years:
• Not remember, for example, that life passes you by whether you choose to live it or not, so don’t sweat the small stuff!
• Have found out that God can make up for the “years that the locusts ate” and give me the love of a man I still believe I don’t deserve and a beautiful family I am grateful for and try not to take for granted.
• That, on the other hand, addictions like the one my dad suffers from, can drain a family totally of resources, energy and emotions and NEVER have a happy end. This would be actually the only static thing in my life if I was to wake up amnesic, the situation my dad has been in for all these years…
• Surprised I have learned to use make up and own now a good few pairs of high heels. I used to be such a tomboy back in 2001.
• Shocked that I am a few kilos heavier than I used to be. But then, I would put it down to the pregnancy, I suppose 🙂
• So pleased I live in a nice big house, as I hoped I would, with plenty of room for guests and children to play.
• Utterly surprised that I have suffered from postnatal depression and that I now suffer from hypothyroidism that makes me tired and moody, especially when around children. I always imagined myself to be a natural mummy and would be shocked to find out it hadn’t been the case!
• Pleased that I still like to watch old movies, like “The Sound of Music.”
• Relieved to know I still LOVE books and reading and find it the most relaxing activity I can think of.
• Not surprised to find out I tried skiing but was rubbish at it.
• Pleased to find out I am good at cooking and feeding my family nutritious, tasty and healthy meals.
• Over the moon that my mum is still alive, I would pick up the phone to call her at once, as I still do daily!

Well, that’s my list. I don’t have a picture that goes back as far as 2003, I left them all in my parents’ apartment but I have dug up a picture from 2006, when I first met hubby. Can you see the difference :-)?