Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

Memory Lane

May 17, 2008 by Kristin Leave a Comment


I haven’t heard them or seen them now that we’re all grown-ups, but the New Kids on the Block are back together again. I have to wonder if I’ll still think Joey is the cutest. In my own world, it seems rather appropriate that NKOTB are taking a chance at a comeback.

I keep catching myself reminiscing.

I think it really started when I watched the 19-episode series of “My So-Called Life” on DVD. Mom remembered how much I loved the show in 1994, (Gosh, that’s 14 years ago!) so she bought me the DVDs for my birthday.

Angela Chase is always thinking and talking about what she’s thinking. I can relate to that. And she’s in love with Jordan Catalano, who is completely different from her. Yet they connect. They know each other beyond what’s on the surface. The whole thing had me walking down Memory Lane.

Then yesterday when I was driving to Owensboro, I heard Wilson Phillips on the radio. I guess that’s what I get for forgetting my CDs. Seriously, though, I left it on, and sang “Hold On” to Cate.

(For the record, I don’t sing well, and I certainly don’t sing directly to other people. But this other person is a year old and she’ll never remember that obnoxious moment!)

Some day somebody’s gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don’t you know?
Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can you hold on for one more day
Things’ll go your way
Hold on for one more day

And the trip to Owensboro itself kept me on Memory Lane. I went to have lunch with Mrs. Quigley, who can best be described as my second childhood mom. Her daughter, Katie, is my dearest, closest friend. She’s the kind of friend I can connect with just by the way we say “hello” on the phone, even if we haven’t talked in weeks. She’s the kind of friend that I miss pretty much every day of my life because there was a point in our lives we saw each other every day.

So, anyway, her mom hadn’t seen Cate since Memorial Day weekend last year, so a visit was well overdue. We visited, ate lunch and shopped a little. I was really glad to reconnect and share my daughter with someone who had quite an influence in my teen-age life.

Later in the trip, I heard Jewel’s song “Stronger Woman” on the radio, a country radio station, I’d like to point out. I like that Jewel is considered country these days so I can hear her because that’s mostly what I listen to, especially on the radio. Anyway, I really love this song.

… Well from now on I’m gonna be
The kind of woman I want my daughter to be,
I’m gonna love myself
More than anyone else
Believe in me
Even if someone can’t see
A stronger woman in me
I’m gonna be my own best friend,
Stick with me till the end
Won’t lose myself again
Never, no
Cause there’s a stronger woman,
Stronger woman

Cate was a trooper. We spent about 5 hours in the car, traveling 312 miles. She took a nap there and nap on the way home.


I just sang along with the radio and thought about how I could have never planned my life. (Well, that’s when I wasn’t on the phone!) High school and college were good times for me. I love the relationships I build during those years, and I cherish the ones I still have today. But I really love where I am right now. My life is simple in many ways, and I love feeling free from complications. And I love having Cate along for the ride.

I know how fast my life has gone from a 15-year-old thinking my life wouldn’t start until my friends could drive to counting down the days until I could start fresh at Murray State University to wanting to be finished with school to finding a job to being surprised with my boyfriend at my apartment door with a ring for me to moving back to place I thought I’d never live again to working at a community newspaper that was a better experience than I could have ever imagined to trusting God to give us a baby to quitting that job I loved because I was more in love with my daughter.

It seems so quick. And I don’t want to miss these moments now. I want to cling to the details that are my life. Because, frankly, it’s nice not to be planning for what’s next. It’s nice to be free to live.

Trace Adkins apparently knows how I feel.

You’re going to miss this
You’re going to want this back
You’re going to wish these days
Hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re going to miss this

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Cate, friends, music, quotes, road trips

Comments

  1. Bethany says

    May 19, 2008 at 3:01 am

    Oh my goodness, LOVE all the talk and tieing it in with songs!!How fun! Not to mention some of my favorite songs!! hmmm can we do a tie in with Unanswered Prayers? I always love the thought of looking not at what you prayed for and did not get but what you got that was a result of a unanswered prayer..our miscarriage/adoption journey is the perfect example!!

    Reply
  2. Shelley says

    May 19, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    What a great entry. 🙂 I loved Wilson Phillips too.

    How is Mrs. Q?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our ninth-grade girl who never forgets, our have-no-fear sixth-grade boy, and our joy-filled kindergarten girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • Nine Ways to Go for God
  • 20 years of marriage!
  • God always finds them
  • 5 skills to raise kids well
  • Cheesy, breezy Wisconsin Dells

#PorchStories button

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

What a perfect day for a back-to-school party for What a perfect day for a back-to-school party for some @ncca.lions 7th grade boys and their siblings! A new student wanted to meet some classmates, so we hosted some friends & made new friends. 

#backtoschool #momlife #middleschoolers #boymom #poolpeople #morethangroceries #bettertogether #siblinglove #88daysofsummer #countryliving
Introducing Backroads and Blooms Photography by Ca Introducing Backroads and Blooms Photography by Cate Taylor 🎉 

Cate has five different prints available as 5x7s or 8x10s and then matted and framed. She has in stock two of each print in each size, but she will order more. 

🖼 5x7s matted in 8x10 frame = $12
🖼 8x10s matted in 11x14 frame = $20

🌵 Cactus
🌸 Pink flower
💦 Daisy with water drops
🌼 Yellow & orange flower
✨ Starburst flower 

Let Cate know in the comments what you’d like to order or message me. Local pickup/dropoff only right now. 

You can send PayPal friends & family to kristinhilltaylor@gmail.com, send Venmo to @KristinHillTaylor, or pay cash at pickup.

#buddingphotographer #momlife #firstborn #entrepreneur #photography #outdoorphotography #naturephotography
I took a break from my work & chores to read yeste I took a break from my work & chores to read yesterday and I’m so glad I did. I had to stay up late to finish it last night. 

First of all, don’t judge this book by its cover, which I don’t like. (I’ve seen another cover for this same book, so I really don’t understand!) 

Anyway, I loved the story of first love and loss and reconnection told in the dual now-and-then timeline. I thought the end was a little abrupt, but maybe that’s just because I wanted a little more about Macy and Elliot. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #librarybooks #88daysofsummer
Today I’m thankful for a productive stretch of t Today I’m thankful for a productive stretch of time making my way through a to-do list, this view from my kitchen window, a little more Summer Break with my kids, a book that has me distracted from other things I “should” be doing, and lots of wide-open space in our day. 

#mondaymotivation #choosingJOY #livingfaithfully #countryliving #momlife #reallife #88daysofsummer
We’ve taken our older kids on short-term mission We’ve taken our older kids on short-term mission trips and hope to go on more. They’ve served locally. We support missionaries. We want our kids to be open to wherever God calls them and incorporating missions into our small-town life is one way we, as parents, have hoped to teach that. 

I’m incredibly thankful @hardinbaptistchurch comes alongside us with the same message. The middle and high school @hardinstudents spent the summer looking at different aspects of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Youth minister @cbright2 spent the last Sunday of the series looking at nine practical ways that students – yes, even middle and high schoolers – could participate in and pray about going for God. 

Chase shared these 9 Ways to Go with students' parents, and I asked him for permission to share them with you because even as an adult I want to remember to live on mission – even right where I am. 

9 WAYS TO GO FOR GOD: https://bit.ly/9WaysToGo

#linkinbio #ontheblog #bloggerlife #momlife #churchlife #faithlife #livingfaithfully #missions #missionminded #youth #teenagers #parenting #parenthood
“Writing is what makes me happy. Writing, even, “Writing is what makes me happy. Writing, even, is how I feel I contribute to the world. Reminding people of what’s important. Letting them escape the harsh parts of life, even if it’s just for a few hours. Helping them feel happiness through watching happily-ever-afters unfold. Remembering truths. Recalling their self-worth. Loving others. Living well. Learning. I want to do that.” 

And, let’s be honest, love stories about writers make me happy too. “Meet Me in the Margins” was cute, predictable, and a good way to escape for a little while. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #authorlife #librarybooks #poolpeople #weekending
This is the only picture I took tonight. You can’t tell, but there was a porch full of people talking, more kids playing basketball, and another group around the kitchen table. We covered a lot of ground in our conversations. Nobody cared that I didn’t have hot dog buns or tomatoes for the burgers. I ran out of paper plates and am happy to hear the dishwasher cleaning all the “real” plates. I’m grateful for come-as-you-are community, where we share real life. 

#88daysofsummer #PorchStories #livingfaithfully #morethangroceries #choosingJOY #bettertogether #reallife #hospitalitymatters #poolpeople
While Ben had a great week at @memgrizzyouth camp While Ben had a great week at @memgrizzyouth camp with some school friends, the girls and I soaked up some more of summer with our friends. 

#88daysofsummer #boymom #bettertogether #girlmom #momlife #reallife #choosingJOY
I’m getting ready to get in my van again to pick I’m getting ready to get in my van again to pick up a kid from basketball camp. It’s the third time today I will have driven from my house to somewhere else and back again. And this is still Summer Break, when things are supposedly a little slower. 

My friend @marycarver gets me. She knows us moms spend a million hours a week taxiing people to school and sports and church and friends’ houses and errands and appointments. And maybe we linger longer before coming in the house with arms full of groceries and bags and papers and books … because we just need a minute. Or maybe we answer some texts before we pull away from the store and catch up on phone calls while we drive or show up early to pickup to read a book that has captured our attention. 

We spend a lot of time and accomplish much in our cars. Mary knows this and is giving us the encouragement we need in her new book, “Prayers from the Parking Lot.” It’s a perfect size to keep in your car or purse. Each of the 50 reflections are practical and inspiring and meet moms on the go right where we are. 

Preorder this gem now so you have it the next time you have a few extra minutes in a parking lot, school pickup line, or waiting room. It officially releases next week and is available from @revellbooks on Amazon and wherever else you buy books. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #momlife #reallife #livingfaithfully
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorites

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2022 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM