We.

Life has one great throwing arm. It can throw curve balls at you that blow your hair back and just about knock you off of your feet. 

Life has been filled with drastic changes in the last year. In that year we gained a beautiful son, moved across the country, attempted to set up a new home (not going to lie, there is still A TON to do), made it through 3 surgeries, searched for a church, sent our baby to preschool, we’ve been lonely, we’ve been overwhelmed, and we’re exhausted. Just reading that list kind of makes me want to breath in a paper bag for a while. The best part of this list is summed up in one word: we.

No matter the curves that come, I belong to a WE! I have a best friend to navigate this crazy, whirlwind life with. No matter how extreme the ups and downs are, we always have each other. I sit thinking now how rare that is. Not many people meet at nineteen, marry at twenty, and look at the grace and love that has covered them for almost eight years of marriage with smiles on their faces (even the smiles that come through tears).

We are so different and so much the same. In a lot of ways Rob is still the guy who “slothed” people and offered to teach me guitar. By the way, he’s still only given me ONE guitar lesson! In a lot of ways I’m still a crazy person who can’t sit still and always has to be accomplishing something. He’s different in that he can’t exist on no sleep and coffee anymore, and I’m different in being okay with really needing someone.

When I think back to the beginning, I’m thankful for long, deep conversations where we held hands and shared our hearts. Those bloomed to an incomparable friendship. That friendship has gotten us through so many days as “we.” 

Today I’m thankful for remembering how it all started and the joy that sparks in my heart when I think about a boy with long hair who showed up for me. A boy who hung out with me because he wanted to know me. He wanted to know the real me, and he wanted to love that girl no matter the cost. He saw a worth I hadn’t yet- a beauty inside that could only be revealed in a woman being loved well. 

We always have each other to laugh with, to love with, and to hold hands with as we open every new chapter along life’s way. I’m thankful for every moment that led us here. I’m thankful for the assurance that I will always be loved, no matter what comes.