Happy Anniversary!

I haven't had any time this week to write, but I had to post this saying HAPPY 25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful parents.

I'm so proud to have them as my parents and to have the privilege of having them raise me. I have so many wonderful memories from growing up and I realize now how many sacrifices they had to make for that to happen.

Raising four kids can't be easy. I know we made their lives difficult sometimes: we made it hard for them to spend time together, made them go without sleep, caused them to worry about us, used up tons of their money, messed up the house, wrecked cars, said stupid things, fought with each other, begged for pets we weren't allowed to have, and maybe we even made them question why they wanted to be parents in the first place.

But somehow, through all the difficulties of life and raising a family, they managed to create a warm, loving household where everyone is always welcome. In high school even our friends knew that they never had to ask - the door was always open at our house. Because of this, there were always tons of people at our house. In addition to all the friends we had over, my parents also rented out our basement to college students early on in their marriage and dad was always taking in homeless people or travellers passing through. It amazes me the generousity and trust they found in their hearts. I feel lucky to have witnessed that and been influenced by those important values: always show love to others.

I remember the first time I really saw my parents as fuller people, instead of only the roles they played in my life as parents. I remember asking my mom about when she and my dad met and what she thought was going to happen with them. I remember thinking that she was full of hopes and doubts and dreams, just like I was. Even though she is further along in the journey, we are so alike, I thought. I wanted to know more about each of them and what they were like before I came along. I felt like I was discovering two whole new people in my life. Here I had known my parents only as they existed and interacted with me...but there was so much more to them! I remember tucking away this revelation like a treasure, promising myself I would uncover it again, in an effort to never limit my view of my parents again.

So, in all this rambling at 1 AM technically a day after their anniversary, I guess I just want to say thanks mom and dad. I know it couldn't have been easy all these years, but I hope you can say as surely as I can that it was worth it. I'm excited for this next phase in your relationship, where you can get to know each other again and sit back and watch your kids go do great things in the world. You put a lot of work into us, and it paid off. You put a lot of work into your relationship and that paid off, too! Happy Anniversary! Here's to another 25 rich, happy years, full of surprises, laughter, love, and joy.