Day {Twenty+Two}

Day 22 A photo of something that means a lot to you

I didn't post anything on Friday and I have gotten to the point that I feel a void in my day if I don't take a moment to just lay out my thoughts but I really didn't have any clue how to answer the question for day 22. I love a lot of things in my house, but I really don't have just one meaningful thing.


I could have posted a picture of my grandfather's tattered bible. The binding is worn off and the pages are brown with age. There are half a dozen flowers dried between the pages and I have no idea why or the occasion they represent. There are various notes scratched in between the verses which is meaningful because I have never been very clear on my grandpa's stance when it came to faith.


I could have posted a picture of a few of the ornaments that Sean and I have collected over the last couple of years. They are still shiny and new but they hang on our tree anxious to age with our family.


I could have posted a picture of a ragged copy of a book my mother gave me when I was in 2nd grade. It's a chapter book of "Beauty and the Beast" and it appears very unassuming but just inside the front cover is a long note written by my mother for being such a good big sister. It means so much to me because it was a gift she gave me for no reason and I remember never having felt so proud before. It sounds pretty lame but it has great meaning to me.


For now, though, I'll post a picture of one of my favorite days with the symbol of our vows. There have been quite a few things that have gone on over the last couple of weeks. A lot of really crappy things that have made us wonder why bad things happen, particularly so close to the holidays. Things that have made the view of our family turn a little sideways. Things that I have been forced to only pray about because I can't do anything else to fix the situation. My thoughts have been consumed with a family member's health problems, with a friend's preparation for a possible loss of a grandparent, with another family member's crisis, with the loss of my husband's step-grandmother, and with my own hurt feelings. Looking over my wedding pictures last night I was reminded of the beauty that day held for me. It was so much fun to be there with our friends and family members and it really seems so far away now. But the vows were for the good times as well as the bad. We haven't had a blast over the last few weeks, but we've done it together and that has been immensely better than going through it alone.

New Years Resolution

Happy 2011!
In bittersweet excitement I watched the new year come in with my new husband in our (fairly) new home. 2010 was so good to us that I can only pray that 2011 will be as generous. These are the things I want to remember about 2010.

• For the first time in my life, I really understood what it meant to take pride in your work. We got so much accomplished on our house this year, including landscaping, stump removal, intense cleaning, a new sink, new light fixutres and an updated kitchen color. Even better? We worked and made decisions on nearly everything together. It is the epitome of teamwork: making decisions & agreeing on one of your greatest financial investments.
• Family has been so good to us. We could not have accomplished many of the items on our list without the help of Sean's dad. Both of our fathers were merely a phone call away for any questions we had, primarily regarding electrical issues. Additionally, Sean's sister lives with us. There were many naysayers before we all moved in together, and I hate to say that I was in the highly skeptical crowd. I've never had very good luck living with other females, and it may not come as a surprise but I'm not the greatest with kids. Many nights I've just needed to come home and unload my troubles on someone, or just talk, and Ashley has always been there which has meant a great deal to me. Additionally, when Sean gets tired of talking to me, he can always go hang out with his big sis. I think it works out well for all of us. We would be lost with out our family. And I would have no cooking buddies.
• This is truly the year we established a weekly "date night." It is the one night out of the week that we do something just as a couple. The night may evolve into a night out with friends, but it is spent together. I think this has been very healthy for our relationship: I am very much a homebody so it helps me get out. We have communicated more on date night than any other night of the week.
• Of course, the biggest event of the year has been our wedding. Sean & I have watched both of our best friends get married and they have both been tear jerkers for this girl, primarily because I understand and realize the depth of the commitment now. It certainly is the best day of my life. I hope to never forget watching him hop from side to side, shifting his weight while I walked down the aisle. My dad whispered to me, "He's so excited he can't stand still!" I hope to always remember the dancing. Oh, the dancing! We truly became dance partners that night! On-lookers thought he was going to pull my arm out of socket and I thought he was going to drop me but he never did. I love that pollack.

My new year's resolution is to keep this blog going. I used to journal EVERYTHING and haven't even cracked my diary open to read lately. I feel like I'm going to forget important events of this newly married life that I want to be able to tell my kids about one day. So here's to the new year: that it will be as productive as 2010, that it will be as generous as 2010, and that I'll be able to remember even more about 2011 than I do about 2010.