26 Year History

This time 26 years ago, I was not blogging. I was in the throes of childbirth. My first child was about to make his entrance into this world - my world.

My dad had told me on my wedding day that there were two days when "your life changes just like that!" And he snapped his fingers. One is when you get married, and the other is when you have a baby.

That second milestone came to pass on July 24, 1989 at 2:17 am when Luke's little lungs (or big lungs - he weighed 9 lbs 9.5 oz) moved his chest up and down for the first time.

That boy.

What a beautiful, rich, challenging gift he was...and is! Aren't all children that? We can't possibly know what we are getting ourselves into - especially with our first one. Sometimes it blows me away to remember that God had him to be born at this time in this place. That's not small.

It certainly hasn't been in my life.

Through the years, we've enjoyed many activities together. There's nothing like long history with someone, is there? We enjoy many of the same things - sports, hiking, reading, peaches, music, carrot cake, and long discussions over deep topics - to name a few.

And, we both like to write.

He probably likes Legos more than me

The love of writing is a relatively new discovery for me, but not for him. He's been writing since Primary school - as these examples can attest. The spelling struggle was real on this poem, so below, I've typed it out.

Winter mostly cold. 

The snow is white as sheep's wool. 

The trees are brown as a bear. 

It sometimes makes you wonder, is there magic in the air?

Because I sometime wonder about those things.

Don't you?

I love that one so much.

And this Super Bowl one? Clever. To say Luke lived and breathed sports growing up is an understatement, so he would write about them often. The Night Before Christmas had just the right rhythm to parody, too.

While Luke praised John Elway in the previous one, Dennis Rodman didn't fare so well in my eldest's

"If I Were in Charge of the World."

Those were a long time ago, and I had a blast digging through old stuff to find them.

Since those days - and college days - Luke has flipped around a bit, as we all do. He's figuring out who he is and what his place is in this world.

Currently, he's living on the West Coast, and, among other things, he is still doing some writing.

A few weeks ago, he posted this on Instagram.

That one made me stop and think; something all writers hope their writing does to people. And, because I liked it so much, it also prompted me to text him and encourage him to keep writing. #moreplease

And, milestones - like birthdays - prompt us to reflect on the life we've lived and who we've been blessed to live it with.

I've been blessed to live mine with our Luke.
I love him. Always and forever, no matter what.
I am thankful for our 26 year history.

1990

2013