We were married in late May 2005, close enough to summer for me. Honestly, it was a mess. From fights (hello Jerry Springer), to theft (hello Judge Judy), the church catching fire (thankfully after we were all gone), and the sewer backing up into our basement the next day. Yep, it was all a mess. We seriously contemplated a fast annulment, life seemed to be easier prior to our wedding.
Thankfully we stuck it out and for the most part can laugh about those not so great firsts now. They were hard. They were a mess, but they were lessons that we could make it through the rough spots. In that mess, that sweet, sweet mess, we found a stronger love. Love that led us to some of the first that we take for granted and overlook.
Shortly after we got married we lost our dog. That was a tough loss for us. We had no children, Oliver was pretty much the light of our world. One of the first things I talked Rob into (against his better judgment) was Oliver. He taught us the hard loss of losing something you love. It was hard to find the sweetness in that mess. There was a void. My lab that wouldn't let Rob hug me because he was so protective was gone. It hurt. Together we faced that first major loss in our lives together. It too was hard, but looking back I can see the sweetness that was us being there for each other.
Late that summer we got Tanner. The tiny little runt that we rescued, is now a seventy pound baby. He's eleven years old and loved by the girls in this house something fierce. Lovingly called Bubba by the kiddos, he's started making messes that three kids ago would have never happened. I can only chalk it up to he went from being our only baby that got DQ ice cream almost every other night, to barely getting a quarter of the attention that he was used to. The garbage is not really a sweet mess. It does however send me a reminder that this sweet boy is only ours for a short time. Though the mess he sometimes makes isn't sweet, he is and I need to remember to throw some attention his way because we couldn't have gotten a better "Bubba" for our girls.
This past weekend we took the little kids to Tuscola and played at the park. I remember how excited Aspen and Afton were when they accomplished climbing up the big stairs and going down the slide. How excited Bry was climbing the rock wall by herself, and the huge grins that each of them had. Those are sweet firsts. It made me reminisce to those same things when Maui was little, and more recently her climbing to the top of trees and her smiles of accomplishment.
Afterwards we hit one of our favorite ice cream spots. We got each of the girls their own cones. That was a mess. A BIG mess. The twins left trails of ice cream everywhere they went, stealing hearts along the way. I loved watching how each one of them ate their cones and how much it was an indication of their personality. Brylynn is very meticulous in eating her cone, wiping her mouth after each go round, not liking the sticky feeling on her hands. Aspen dove in face first, enjoying every bite, dipping fries in her cone just to make sure it's good on everything. Afton scooped the ice cream out with her hands because she's a go getter like that. They were the definition of a sweet mess! The looks of happiness totally made that mess worth it. These firsts made me flashback to Maui around the same age and she preferred to eat her cones upside down, cone first. Sweet messes, sweet memories.
The messes in life aren't always pretty (remember What I Learned from a doughnut). But I'm certain somewhere in all of this, I have the opportunity to remember that it's a sweet, sweet mess, and it's only mine for a little while. So we're going to play in the rain fully clothed, eat our ice cream upside down, and love each other through the ups and downs. Yep, it's a mess, and I'm gonna love every sticky face and soggy bottom I can...
It's a sweet, sweet mess, and I'm beyond thankful that God let it be mine!
No comments:
Post a Comment