The Truth About Us

The truth is, we all want to be great. Great mothers, great wives, great workers. Just good people. I think we spend a lot of our lives striving to get there. Learning from the past, living out the advice we've received from others, choosing wisely the paths we take, so that they lead us to our desired destination. Like everything else in life, my destination is different than yours and the next person. I mean, I hope you are going where I go when I die, but while I'm here, our dreams and goals are different. And that's okay. If there is one thing I learned from my mother at a very young age it is that not everyone is like me (in the good ways and the bad) and that is normal. I have no idea what its like to be you, but I sure bet your happiness feels just like mine. I sure don't know what pushes everyones buttons. But, I'm sure you've got buttons just like I do. I have no idea what its like to not be able to pay my mortgage, but I sure bet on a bad day, my sadness could add up to someone who does know what that feels like. I don't know what it's like to be a millionaire and have all the money in the world. But, somebody out there does.

But, quite frankly, you don't know what it's like to be me, either. And that's okay.

You don't know what it's like working from home or all hours of the night, just so you can be with your children most of the time. You don't know what it's like to be a construction superintendent in a not-so-booming economy. You don't know what it's like to have two toddlers one year apart be the center of your whole world. You don't know what it's like to be me. And that's okay, because I do. I know what my focus is, who my focus is on, and I can't imagine that trying to be the best mother and wife I can possibly be is the wrong focal point. In fact, I think it's the best one.

My husband and I were talking the other night about life: where we're going, where we've been. Dreams. Ambitions. Goals. Plans for our future. It was so refreshing to sit and think about all we have endured as a couple, be it the stress of having a newborn and a 15-month old, or the failing economy, or at times, how we were going to pay certain bills. The past three years have been some of the most incredible, challenging, rewarding, life-changing years we have ever experienced. Though, there have certainly been times I didn't think life would ever be the same for me, my life is exactly what I wished for so many years ago. Most of our days our great, but I'd be lying if I didn't say there is an occasional disaster of a day where absolutely nothing goes right - the baby won't nap, Kevin didn't want what I cooked for dinner, Lily comes out of her room a million times when it's time for bed, the house is a mess, Lily won't "listen" even though she surely knows better, and well...on those days, I just know it only gets better from there.

Next week is our third wedding anniversary and I would have never dreamed our lives would have changed so drastically in three years. No matter how stressful, trying, or chaotic our life gets, I can honestly say the past three years have been the happiest times in our lives. We have discovered the meaning of family and put our family first and to us, that is what matters. We live for each other. Each day, each hour, is lived for someone else. Kevin and I have fallen in love all over again because we've learned to embrace our life. And believe it or not, we wouldn't have it any other way. I don't know about you, but I'm just trying to be the best me I can be.