The past comes back to me less and less; I have always been a future oriented person but I am finding, as I get older (50th birthday just over a month away) that I am learning to live in, and enjoy, the present. Nonetheless, there are always occurrences which bring something back. This weekend, I decided to have a look at a CD my mother had made as a gift, some time ago.

I then spent a couple of hours uploading some of these photographs, and I decided that today I would share some of my favourites. My mother had even labelled some of them. The "Heather loves Daddy" one would be from late 1957 or early 1958, since my sister was born in May 1958 and in this picture I look younger than I would have been when she was born. So I'm guessing at the time but I sure liked the feeling...

I also thought you might enjoy one of our favourites from our early years in Belize. I had left Papua New Guinea to go and see my family, who during the years I was in P.N.G. had moved from Canada to Belize. So I flew from P.N.G. to Belize (a story in itself) and from late December 1979 until May or so of 1980 I stayed in Belize with my family...and they did an amazing job of introducing me to many of the beauties of that country. Here you see three of my four sisters (Andrea was already married and living in northern Saskatchewan) at one of our most enjoyed swimming locales, Mountain Pine Ridge. It's actually called the Five Sisters, and is a series of waterfalls and pools created by erosion in the upper reaches of Belize, in Cayo District. It's about a two hour drive over very bumpy terrain, so we did not go often, but over the years almost all of the extended Nablo family, and our friends, have enjoyed visiting this area. It's slightly cooler, since it's in the 'highlands', probably about 3,000 feet above the sea level (the coast of Belize is pretty hot, especially in the cities or as you drive south). But this area is surrounded by species of pines, and has the most fascinating natural cave formations that we explored. The water is so much fun...sliding down the underwater rock formations, which have worn smooth with time, and into pools (which are safe for babies)...perfect temperatures...and the company of loved ones. What more could you ask? So in this picture, I would have been twenty-four years old (yes, that long ago!) and that would make Laurel 22, Coral about 13, and Sylvia 11. Now, I am the mother of three grown children, Laurel the mother of five grown children, Coral has five children who range in age from 3 to almost 15, and Sylvia's three girls are all ten and under. Time flies...

So although I don't think a lot about the past, sometimes something happens to bring it closer to your heart, and Mom's pictures did that for me this weekend. Thanks, Mom.