2018 is a big year for this family. We celebrate a lot of milestones this year. It is a year for reflection, gratitude, and doing.
Ten years ago at this time I was madly planning our wedding. In seven weeks, with the help of family and close friends, we threw together our intimate ceremony (and brief reception). Ten years ago at this time I was spending night and day feeling like I had the stomach flu and eating steak whenever I could keep it down (ten years later and I'm a vegetarian). Ten years ago, in the midst of wedding planning, we were also preparing for our first child. Ten years ago, we had our first child. Ten years ago I quit what I thought would be my lifelong job in the medical field. Ten years ago I decided to stop my schooling in the medical field because I just wasn't sure of life at the moment. I had no idea what was in store, but I just knew that there was better things out there for me. 2008 was a life changing year.
For years I viewed 2008 as the highlight year of my life. While it was a BIG year for me, for us as a couple, and for us as a family, it's nothing compared to this year, 2018. This is the year we celebrate all of those years in between these two big years. In these ten years we've moved three times, bought our perfect-for-us-house, had not one but three kids, laughed until we cried, cried until we laughed. We fought with passion, loved with passion, and lived life with passion. We experienced the happiest of moments and moments I never want to experience again. We felt fear, we felt unsure, we felt anger, we felt joy, and most of all, we felt love.
In these ten years we've lost touch with a lot of those close friends that helped with our wedding (although they will always hold a special place in our hearts for the rest of our lives) and have gained new friends. We have gained and lost family members. We have grown as individuals, as a couple, and as a family.
I'm not a fan of new year resolutions, but I am a big fan of To Do Lists. The minis, Hubs, and I sat down early last fall to make our 2018 To Do List because we knew the gravity this year holds for us. At the top of this list is being thankful. Thankful for all we have, all we have worked for, all we have lost and gained in these last ten years. As we went over this To Do List one last time the other evening, I made the comment that I can't believe it's ten years already.
"We've been married 10 years! We've been parents for 10 years! Can you believe it??!!? I can't believe it's been 10 years. It sure doesn't feel like it," I commented to my husband as I got ready to cross the first item off of our To Do List.
"No I can't, but I don't really know what 10 years feels like either." I had to think about this one. For me, ten years feels like this:
It goes faster than you think. In honor of these past ten years, in 2018 we'll be taking a big family vacation to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We'll celebrate owning our house for one year as we begin a kitchen update and numerous other home improvement projects Hubs and I are sure to disagree on. We'll fight about whether to get chickens and/or a dog. We'll make memories and live life exactly how we have been: adventurous with a side of crazy. That's what I'm hoping for 2018.