Happy

I had such a great holiday season. Meals were not perfectly planned even though I started planning in November. The house was not perfectly decorated and I did not find the perfect gifts for the people I love so much. Shit, I even forgot to give the gifts I was most excited about giving! Regardless, I enjoyed the days we had with our families. My kids are so lucky to have so many loving people in their lives. It is cool to see relationships of their own develop. Less was definitely more this season and something I plan to continue. The time we spend together, the laughs, the smiles, the hugs, those things will last and last, each year building on the last. Family is so important. This season was also blessed with lots of time with really close friends.

I've definitely come to understand that I will really not ever make the same kind of friends that I did in high school and college. Andy and I are incredibly lucky to have many of the same friends we did 15 years ago. There's this feeling that you get when you really know someone. Like a sibling. You know their faults and love them because of those. You know where they've been and where they are coming from. You can look deeply into their eyes without coming to an uncomfortable place, hold hands without awkwardness and embrace without worry. You know you're always given the benefit of doubt. The best feeling though is that you really want them to be happy, happy in their deepest of deeps even if that means living across the country or choosing never to have the children you would love to meet. Sure, we've been through a lot and done some things that we don't like to think we could do to one another, but isn't that really what a real friendship is about? When you love someone it is possible to move on, grow up, forgive and love deeper. If only every marriage could be built on that kind of friendship. How lucky are we?!