It was our anniversary this week. 27 years, 31 years if you count the years we dated.
We've lived in four homes.
We've started four businesses.
We've adopted five children.
We've owned no less than 17 vehicles (I lost count).
We've traveled easily 350,000 miles.
We've had one dog and one cat.
We've argued 26 times about the messy garage (He cleaned it without the argument this year!)
We've lost 2 Dads, 5 grandparents, 1 brother, and 1 nephew.
We've homeschooled 4 years.
We've bought and sold four items to camp in.
We've spent far too much to calculate at Wal-Mart.
We've misplaced approximately 236 socks,
We've made hundreds of friends.
We've been online for 25 years.
We've purchased more things online than I think I could count.
We've loved one another forever.
Looking back over the last 31 years of my life, it is impossible for me to even fathom what direction my life would have taken had I not said "Yes" to Dominick when he asked me in the middle of a softball game if I would be his date on his Graduation Night trip to Disneyland. What would have been in store for me? Who would I have become? Who would he have become?
We have lived our dreams, something relatively few people can say. I know how blessed we have been to say that. I dreamed of a house in the country, I dreamed of a vacation now and then, I dreamed of vistas that were free from freeways and billboards. I dreamed of motherhood, of adoption, of being able to be home to raise our children. I dreamed of a marriage that would last, of laughter and joy. I dreamed of a life that had some meaning, even if only to a few.
What are the dreams of the future? What else could I possibly wish for, when life has already so richly blessed us? I dream of deep, lasting, warm relationships with our children, I dream of graduations and careers that fulfill them, I dream of partners that help complete them. I dream of exploring in an RV, I dream of doing something that matters beyond parenting, I dream of making a difference in the lives of those we meet. I dream silly little dreams of being able to one day play the harp decently beyond Twinkle Twinkle, I dream of semi-retirement with lunches together, and of hopefully not eating cat food in retirement!! I dream of a little business we continue to run until we desire not to work at all anymore. And yes, I dream of many, many more years of annual garage arguments...for a marriage is not a real marriage without a little fuss here and there!
Most importantly, I dream of it all with the same wonderful man who has been my mate and best friend since childhood.
We didn't do anything out of the ordinary for our anniversary. We found ourselves at a play Joshie's best friend was in, cheering him on, and eating pizza at his family's home afterward. We treated ourselves and the kids to lunch at the Olive Garden the next day, and we took advantage of the all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks deal in true LaJoy fashion. It was all we needed, for we already have all we need. Nothing all that special, but then, maybe I am weird because as I look at our life together, all of us together equal something special already.
I laughed as we left the restaurant and I said there was one thing I wanted for an anniversary gift, something completely frivolous. The only thing I wanted was a waffle iron. Dominick looked at me and grinned as he said, "I think we can manage that!", and later yesterday I was the proud owner of a super duper double sided candy apple red Belgian waffle iron from Walmart. Oh yes, and the mix so we could have waffles this morning. I wore the lovely leather bracelet Joshua surprised us and made each of us that had Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad stamped on it from him hammering it with a hammer and screwdriver as a carving tool.
But you know what beat the waffle iron totally? The beautiful note that Kenny wrote us. It reminded me of the deep truth of the ripples made when two people fall in love, which was the saying presented to us on a wooden sign by the girls. Two people falling in love, spreading that love not just to those under their roof, but hopefully to many, many others as well. Here is Kenny's note to us:
Can it get much better? "You have an unending stream of love for me", "together you make the perfect parents for me".
Somehow, it seems far more appropriate to say that 27 years later, it's all because 7 people fell in love. May that love roll on, and on, and on...
We've lived in four homes.
We've started four businesses.
We've adopted five children.
We've owned no less than 17 vehicles (I lost count).
We've traveled easily 350,000 miles.
We've had one dog and one cat.
We've argued 26 times about the messy garage (He cleaned it without the argument this year!)
We've lost 2 Dads, 5 grandparents, 1 brother, and 1 nephew.
We've homeschooled 4 years.
We've bought and sold four items to camp in.
We've spent far too much to calculate at Wal-Mart.
We've misplaced approximately 236 socks,
We've made hundreds of friends.
We've been online for 25 years.
We've purchased more things online than I think I could count.
We've loved one another forever.
Looking back over the last 31 years of my life, it is impossible for me to even fathom what direction my life would have taken had I not said "Yes" to Dominick when he asked me in the middle of a softball game if I would be his date on his Graduation Night trip to Disneyland. What would have been in store for me? Who would I have become? Who would he have become?
We have lived our dreams, something relatively few people can say. I know how blessed we have been to say that. I dreamed of a house in the country, I dreamed of a vacation now and then, I dreamed of vistas that were free from freeways and billboards. I dreamed of motherhood, of adoption, of being able to be home to raise our children. I dreamed of a marriage that would last, of laughter and joy. I dreamed of a life that had some meaning, even if only to a few.
What are the dreams of the future? What else could I possibly wish for, when life has already so richly blessed us? I dream of deep, lasting, warm relationships with our children, I dream of graduations and careers that fulfill them, I dream of partners that help complete them. I dream of exploring in an RV, I dream of doing something that matters beyond parenting, I dream of making a difference in the lives of those we meet. I dream silly little dreams of being able to one day play the harp decently beyond Twinkle Twinkle, I dream of semi-retirement with lunches together, and of hopefully not eating cat food in retirement!! I dream of a little business we continue to run until we desire not to work at all anymore. And yes, I dream of many, many more years of annual garage arguments...for a marriage is not a real marriage without a little fuss here and there!
Most importantly, I dream of it all with the same wonderful man who has been my mate and best friend since childhood.
We didn't do anything out of the ordinary for our anniversary. We found ourselves at a play Joshie's best friend was in, cheering him on, and eating pizza at his family's home afterward. We treated ourselves and the kids to lunch at the Olive Garden the next day, and we took advantage of the all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks deal in true LaJoy fashion. It was all we needed, for we already have all we need. Nothing all that special, but then, maybe I am weird because as I look at our life together, all of us together equal something special already.
I laughed as we left the restaurant and I said there was one thing I wanted for an anniversary gift, something completely frivolous. The only thing I wanted was a waffle iron. Dominick looked at me and grinned as he said, "I think we can manage that!", and later yesterday I was the proud owner of a super duper double sided candy apple red Belgian waffle iron from Walmart. Oh yes, and the mix so we could have waffles this morning. I wore the lovely leather bracelet Joshua surprised us and made each of us that had Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad stamped on it from him hammering it with a hammer and screwdriver as a carving tool.
But you know what beat the waffle iron totally? The beautiful note that Kenny wrote us. It reminded me of the deep truth of the ripples made when two people fall in love, which was the saying presented to us on a wooden sign by the girls. Two people falling in love, spreading that love not just to those under their roof, but hopefully to many, many others as well. Here is Kenny's note to us:
Somehow, it seems far more appropriate to say that 27 years later, it's all because 7 people fell in love. May that love roll on, and on, and on...
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