10 people at beach
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: #10 Years Gone Ten Minutes Ago

Hmmm, ten you ask? Ten of what, exactly? It’s quite an open-ended question, leaving much to the imagination and encouraging deep reflection on significant (or mundane?) moments in life. Could it be ten things that spark joy, such as the thrill of an unexpected adventure, or the peace found in nature?

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” – Lou Holtz

10 Canada geese
Ten Canada Geese

Lately, I’ve been reminiscing about events and scenes from a decade ago. For some reason, I’m getting more reminders and notifications from my various photo clouds about 2016.

2016 NPS centennial

As I sift through these digital reminders, I can’t help but contemplate how much has changed since then. I experienced a host of significant events during 2016, a pivotal year that marked milestones in my life.

  • Visited Baja, Mexico, in January, complete with whale sharks and windsurfing.
  • Visited Yosemite National Park twice, one trip during spring for the first time.
  • Celebrated a beloved high school teacher’s 90th birthday in San Diego.
    • In fact, I visited San Diego three different times that year!
  • I helped my youngest daughter move to California’s Central Coast for her new job after graduating from college.
  • During the fall, we traveled to the Pacific Northwest and to the Mojave Desert
  • I lost 30 pounds during that year using Weight Watchers.
  • In December, we chose and paid for our new pup, Brodie.
  • For my birthday, I got my Lumix FZ300 camera, which fueled my love of photography.
Yosemite Peaks from Afar
A 2016 flight over Yosemite Valley at 10,000 feet.

Windsurfing in La Ventana, Baja
Moi Windsurfing January 2016

In 2016, I was fully retired from public service work, teaching part-time at Sacramento State University. Oh, the fun I had teaching students about recreation and parks management!

10 students
10 college students compete

And it’s staggering to witness how much has changed in my life over the last 10 years, prompting me to reflect on growth, transformation, and the fleeting nature of life.

“A lifetime of training for just 10 seconds.” – Jesse Owens

In fact, the number ten carries historical and cultural significance; it represents completeness and perfection in various traditions.

The website BrainwiseMind outlines the significance of the number 10. Here are some thoughts below:

  • Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system (decem – Latin Prefix deci-)
  • Religious Significance: In numerology, 10 represents completion and new beginnings, while in the Bible, it symbolizes divine order and moral authority. (10 Commandments)…”
  • Influence in Popular Culture: Often featured in literature and media, number 10 signifies key themes of closure, challenges, and excellence, underscoring its cultural relevance in storytelling and sports (Top 10 lists).

The use of the decimal system is probably due to humans having ten fingers and ten toes, which they may have used to count before written language was developed. The metric system is based on the number 10.

By now, you should get the point of the challenge. Today, as I’m embracing all things related to ten, I’ve also chosen the 10th month (October) of the modern-day Gregorian 12-month calendar to reflect on.

10 people on kayaks
Students enjoying a Golden October day at Sacramento State University’s Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma
10 purple and white flowers
10 Phlox Blossoms
10 people at beach
10 people caught enjoying a December day at Coronado Beach

Brodie was born in December 2016. He came into our lives in early 2017.

Brodie the Boykin Spaniel, 10 weeks old
Brodie was 10 weeks old here

Consider what the number 10 signifies for you and how it manifests in your daily life, as it can serve as a reminder of growth, potential, and the cyclical nature of existence.

And just for fun and irony…(note there are 10s in the image)…

gas station prices
2016’s California Gas Prices!

“When angry, count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” – Thomas Jefferson

Sharing for Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday.

blue brushstroke

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This theme is WIDE OPEN to your interpretation, which will take you on the journey of deciphering 10 for yourself! It’s an opportunity to explore your own connections with the number ten, whether it be in terms of achievements, experiences, or even relationships.

If you are participating in the photo challenge, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme. Join me next week as we explore “STORM.”

“Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” – Charles M. Schulz

bimoji signature

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55 comments

  8. You had a ton of things going in 2016 Terri and I find time is slipping by much too quickly as I get older. It’s already the 18th of January and it seems we were just thinking about Christmas. Brodie was adorable as a 10-week old puppy and is still adorable now. He would not have intimidated the deer back then. I really wasn’t sure how I would interpret the number ten to be honest and so I have done the continuation of my walk after I photographed the mural instead. In the post, I reflect on seeing an elderly woman tossing peanuts to the squirrels – she had to be 90. I will be turning 70 this year and I mused this might be me in a decade or two … I could have used the word “ten” there, but I thought it might seem like I made it up, which I didn’t. I didn’t take her photo either. She was not conversational in the least. Wednesday is Squirrel Appreciation Day, so no flowers either … I’m not sure what to do for Storm as the weather here has prohibited me from walking in snow/ice and really too cold for the camera at below zero windchills, but I have done a post filled with fleurs for next week!

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    • I bet you have 10 birds or ducks in a pic or two (or 10)? If I could find 10 geese a flyin’ in my few birds posts you must have ten times that! Oh I couldn’t resist, Linda.
      I have zero current storm pics unless fog is considered a storm. Im using old pics for the post. Plus an aurora shot or two since they’re geomagnetic storms. Never say never!

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      • Maybe I should have reworked the “this is me in a decade or two” angle … I have five squirrels in this week’s Wordless post, three squirrels I photographed and two squirrels I drew. I’ll see if I can find some more squirrels in my photos I still haven’t gone through so they’ll be “fresh squirrels”. 🙂 I’m still going through photos taken the week of September 8th and some in October. Whew!

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  10. When I saw this theme listed on your Sunday Stills calendar, I wondered where you’d go with it. How fun! It’s good to look back now and then so we can see how far we’ve come. It’s hard to imagine that gas was ever than low (but I’ve driven an EV since 2012, so I haven’t paid much attention). I think we first meet in 2016!

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  11. This is a fun post, Terri! But oh, that adorable picture of Brodie! And did we ever really pay $1.87 for a gallon of regular?? Must have been, long, long, ago! I hope to come up with some 10’s later in the week, and if I do, you’ll be the first to know! 😉 🙂

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  16. This is a beautifully reflective piece—warm, thoughtful, and quietly joyful. I love how you begin with the playful ambiguity of “ten,” allowing the reader to lean into memory before gently anchoring it with the Lou Holtz quote. That opening sets the tone perfectly for what follows: a meditation on time, response, and gratitude.

    Your recollections from 2016 feel vivid and alive, not like a checklist, but like moments lovingly revisited. From windsurfing with whale sharks in Baja to flying over Yosemite, from personal milestones to family transitions, each memory carries a sense of presence and appreciation. The balance between adventure, growth, and everyday meaning is especially moving.

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  25. Hi Terri, I remember some of these things. You’re getting Brodie and the teacher’s 90th. I also remember your working at the university. I started blogging in 2016 so didn’t know you for the full year. I know you were among the first bloggers I met.

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