“Our life isn’t exactly how you pictured it, is it?” –You
asked me that a couple weeks ago.
We had been living in a hotel for three months. We were both
frustrated, tired and worried. We were stressed about selling our house and
anxious about moving into a new house.
I think I just smiled wearily and nodded.
But, you were so right. This life of ours isn’t anything
like the life I imagined on that crisp September evening 11 years ago.
We were young, a bit plump, in love and dancing to “Fools
Rush in.” We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had plenty of dreams. Back
then, I just assumed we’d live in our little Baltimore townhouse forever. Raise
two kids. Work hard. Maybe travel a bit.
My, how wrong I was.
As we settle into our fourth home and prepare for the birth
of our third child, I can barely recognize those two 20-somethings. They had
all the time in the world, and not too many worries. They went on long walks
and bike rides. They held hands constantly, shamelessly made out in public, played Scrabble and snuggled on the
couch every night slurping homemade smoothies.
A lot can happen in 11 years.
Three moves. 2 ¾ kids. A dog.
Our life is noisy. Busy. Stressful. There are two kids and a
dog who rarely let us snuggle anymore, and kissing grosses everyone out. There’s
whining and tantrums and attitudes and bad moods and sometimes complete chaos. Add to that a new baby and our life is bound to become even more hectic.
But it’s our life. It’s tickle fights and fondue nights. It’s
marshmallows and wine around the firepit. It’s karaoke and ping pong and
becoming obsessed with the latest Netflix drama. It’s ice cream and adventures. Sushi and Pho. Football and lots of Mexican food. It’s our crazy, imperfect life.
While everything hasn’t gone exactly as planned and we are bound to face more struggles, we are in this
together. You’re perfect for
me and I can't imagine doing life with anyone else.
Happy 11th Anniversary!