On Fridays around these parts we have a little tradition. We throw caution (editing, revising, and worrying) to the winds and just write.
For five minutes flat.
You’re welcome to play along. The rules are easy.
1. Write your heart out for five minutes and then show us what you’ve got.
2. Tell your readers you’re linking up here and invite them to play along.
3. And most importantly, go visit, read, and encourage the fellow five-minuter who linked up right before you.
Easy peasy.
Oh and there’s often a little fun something-something in it for one five minute artist. Last week’s winner of this friendship card pack from DaySpring was Katy from Bahava.
This week there’s a delightful spring tote from DaySpring for one of you.
OK, here we go - give me your best five minutes on life five years ago.
GO:
Five years ago we lived in downtown Kyiv and Russian was as familiar to us as English. We strolled home through Independence Square and Shevchenko park. Five years ago we ate ice cream when we felt like it and slept in until noon on Saturdays only to nap out again at 5pm. Five years ago there was just me and Pete and our insecurities that left little room for kids.
Five years ago I went to the bathroom by myself, regularly stayed up till 2am reading and bought myself pretty much whatever movie I was in the mood for. Five years ago love was me and Pete and we couldn’t imagine it any other way. Five years ago we thought we were complete.
Five years ago something started to change. Like a summer breeze, warm and welcoming. And we hardly noticed it at first. But it has hurricane-up-ended our lives. In all the best ways. And I have the chaos in my house, my kitchen, and my car five years on to prove it. And it’s only gaining momentum.
I hear they say, third time’s the charm.
STOP.
OK, show me what you got. And um, I can prove that I didn’t edit because after I got done I did the math and realized my kid is actually five and a half so this whole post should have been titled, “Six Years Ago.”
Just keepin’ it real. And limited to five minutes.
Your turn:
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ah! so much happens in 5 years. kind of makes me a little bit more hopeful…maybe. =) thanks again for the card pack–i’m pumped!
I love how you gave insight into what your life was like before you had children
I would not give up the chaos either or even going to the bathroom by myself 
! Thanks for the challenge I had a lot of fun doing it 
Wow. I have to admit, when I first read the subject for this week, my heart stopped. The 5 year anniversary of my sister’s death is next month. Five years ago she was still here.
Oh Tahnie – my heart aches for you. I know those kinds of milestones only too painfully well. Thinking of you today. And praying you see Christ’s hand and grace in the journey the last five years.
Ha HA HA! Love this topic!
It is amazing what happens in 5 years! I thought you were pregnant (at least?) Isn’t Jackson 5? not yet, I guess:)
I was hoping to get pregnant, yet because I wasn’t, able to fully enter our year internship in Budapest. Which, I didn’t realize, was the same time you were in Ukraine! And so when you visited Budapest, was I there?
Wow! That made me smile to think of…and your post did too.
Jackson is five and a half. So I five years ago he’d was 6 months old and we were firmly in the family way living in South Africa, not dithering over the idea of it in Ukraine still.
We traveled through Budapest in October of 2004. It was glorious!
well, that makes sense…so your ‘five years ago’ was a ‘little more than five years ago’;)
we just missed each other…we were in Bp that year from July 05 to July 06.
Oh I love this! Thank you for such a great prompt!
Cxx
I love your Five Minute Friday prompts! Makes a Friday post easier for me.
Thanks so much for hosting this, Lisa-Jo.
Makes it easier for me too
I think come Fridays, maybe five minutes is all we have left in us.
You know Russian as well as English? You are so down-to-earth and approachable I forget how uber crazy scary smart you are! Man, you’re amazing.
And I used to love reading ’til 2am, too!
I still do it sometimes -it’s totally worth the book hangover I have the next morning
Worth the book hangover, yes, but not the ugly mama mood that shows up in yours truly!
so fun lisa jo! i’ve missed the last few weeks. happy to be back.
i already have the tote so need to enter me- just wanted to write with y’all again
love!
Girl, not only do you have the tote – you helped us gift those totes at Blissdom! Thanks again for that – and happy to see you around FMF again too!
It’s funny — I read your post first, Lisa-Jo, and I smiled at the difference five years makes those first few years of parenting.
But five years ago, I was where you are now — and now, five years later, it seems my life hasn’t changed as much. It’s just gotten crazier, since we’ve added two more kids to the mix.
Time is so relative.
Time and crazy are both relative to kids, I think
So much can happen in 5 years! My oldest is 3 1/2, so I wasn’t even pregnant five years ago. Wasn’t yet married, though that was in the works. I can’t wait to see what the next five bring.
so glad I read your post before I did mine… I almost did the same thing with my 5 1/2 year old… But no, I caught myself! Six years ago I was pregnant with #2! Five years ago I was pregnant with #3!!!
Thanks again for the prompt! I LOVE IT!!
I am *notoriously* bad at math. I mean, I have whole posts about how badly I miscalculated my due dates thank to my awesome math skills
I love that you forgot you had a child
this just makes me love you even more because my math skills are non-existent.
and i think i’ve gotten bitten by the five minute bug! it was a good challenge to make sure my brain is still working…
You went to the bathroom BY YOURSELF?!?!?! I’ve totally forgotten what that was like – it’s been almost 24 years I think! LOL! Loved reading your post & joining in!
Something started to change in me 5 years ago, too….I knew we were kindred spirits!
BLessings as you enjoy your last days as a boy-only mama!
Hubby and I were in the same type of place — the comfortable discomfort that proceeds becoming parents. The place where you don’t know the kind of freedom you have, and perhaps, you just don’t care because the overwhelming desire to have baby make three overcomes all reason. Just as He intended it.
wow.. I almost forget to comment here after all of the blog hopping! Thank you Lisa Jo for hosting such a fun & fabulous Blog hop! It was great fun here in our snow-bound world today!
I found your post so reflective of our past as well. Sleeping in,, using the bathroom alone!
And, yep,, life gains momentum… and
yep.. third time is a charm!
When are you due?
2 weeks left for me here.
Maybe I will see you at Relevant again?!
Blessings,
September
Thanks for hosting all of us again, Lisa-Jo! I look forward to these Five-Minute Fridays. (Even if I can’t get to it until 11pm!)
My first Five Minute Friday! Good prompt.
(And I must confess…I think I actually did six minutes. You won’t tell, will you?) Look forward to next week’s! 
Oh this is so fun to read!
Well this was absurdly late, but done, doggone it! I loved this prompt…it really got me all reflective and contemplative
Have a great weekend!
Good grief – I totally forgot to tell you how much I loved this post. The fact that you were completely off on the timing of the birth of your child makes me ALL MANNER of happy
I also meant to make clear that I do not wish to be included in the giveaway procedings as my post was SO not a Friday post, hehe. Give it to one of these other sweet girls.
Heh – my math skillz are shockingly, notoriously terrible. Have you heard about how I completely botched figuring out my due date this time around? It’s embarrassingly funny: http://thegypsymama.com/2010/09/the-one-where-i-blame-math-again/
Oh and you’re never too late to link up –
That’s the great thing about having the carnival up all weekend – the more, the merrier!
Hey, you mentioned I could post my five minutes here! Sorry it is late, but we have had a bit of a weekend with me squashing a baby gate and trying to recoup from that…
Five years ago I held my breath. I had been through what I felt like was everything possible. We’d weathered infertility, volunteering, a dog, a cat; giving our time to everyone but ourselves. We’d almost split, and then abruptly stuck to our vows. Starting to heal from cancer, and during that, a shift in duties in volunteering for me, after taking a high finance class, somehow in that whole whirl we managed to surprise everyone including ourselves. Family was incredulous that we were so impetuous, and we were stunned that after such a short time our lives were going to dive headlong into a forest we’d never seen coming. Uncertainty, time management, learning, unlearning!, and other beautifully terrifying adjectives cover this time when each morning I would wake up, think something was different and remember oh yeah! I (think I)’m pregnant! And then we found our answer after a two-minute US, and a blinking blip said we were.
And each morning I’d wake, knowing something was different, and remember suddenly that difference, and it was like Christmas when I was five all over again. Each and every day.
Tee hee… wow, seems like it was only a couple of years ago that you guys left…
My friend Alex (@ http://www.journey-to-beauty.com) encouraged me to take the Five Minute Friday Challenge… Which I did! I’m posting my link here as the linky is closed. I enjoyed it much. thank you Alex for encouraging me to jump in. Thanks GypsyMama for offering the opportunity. I am looking forward to reading the other posts. ~Be Blessed. M
http://michellebentham.org/2012/03/23/5836/