I DO

We have a so far short, time honored tradition at Christmas which involves putting a beautiful pink solid peppermint pig in a red velvet bag and sharing a blessing from the past year while tapping the pig with a pewter hammer.  After sharing our blessings, we all take a piece of the peppermint to eat in hopes of prosperity for the coming year. We do this with both extended families. Not only is it edifying to hear all of the many blessings bestowed upon all generations of both families, it is neat to hear the recurring theme of family in almost all of the young adult and adult members of the families.  FAMILY! Aren't we blessed to have FAMILY! People who we love, care about, care for, listen to, cheer on, cry with, pray for, laugh with - you get where I'm going.

19+ years ago I said I DO to a young man named Michael. We made promises to each other and God before friends and family to love one another until 'death do we part'. While we both understood the promise, we had no idea how God would call us to honor that promise day after day after day. We were young and in love and life was just there for the taking. And we took life by the horns and we created life and we loved life. We began in a small row house that Michael renovated in Canton, southeast Baltimore City. City life served us well for 2 years until Michael Jr. turned one. From there we moved to Arbutus MD into a house I will always love. I taught at the local elementary school and Michael was a cashier at Giant and worked for a then,  small Exhibit Design Co. When Eilis came along, I stopped teaching to be at home with both of our kids and then,  just before Michael started Kindergarten we made the move to Montgomery County to a small town called Damascus, where Michael's sister and her family lived.  Michael started  a new job with another, bigger, Exhibit/Design Co and Erin came along and then Kellyanne and  we outgrew our home and moved a mile away to the home where we currently reside. Life was so good. Money was always tight, but we never wanted for anything (well, maybe I did - just a bit). The best part about all of it was, we were never more than an hour away from any given family member.......FAMILY! It's what kept us in Maryland and what keeps us here today.

So back to the Peppermint Pig. The blessing that I shared this year was that of a deeper appreciation for my husband in the care of our family, especially Kellyanne. It's not surprising to me that God in His infinite wisdom knows who your helpmate in life will be.  That does not take us out of the equation - rather, one must pray for wisdom and discernment before saying I DO. Because, if you take the promise seriously, that person will be your helpmate for life. So you better be pretty darn sure your ready for WHATEVER God hands you in life together! I know that I could not be the mom I am to our children, without Michael being the dad that he is.  I know that Kellyanne, and all that comes in her little being, is God's way of helping Michael and I live out our promise to honor the vows we made on 7-11-92.

Our life is far from perfect. But the imperfections keep us from becoming stagnant. They teach us that we live in an imperfect world, that life is not fair but it is good! We can only hope and pray that these lessons/values will be passed on to our children as they grow and mature and seek their paths in life.

So to Michael, 19+ years later I still say I DO,  everyday!