Last week was my Husband's birthday.
I asked him, as we sat on the couch together after the kids were in bed, "What are some highlights of the past year for you?"
And secretly, I was asking as part of a present I was planning for him, but not too surprisingly I loved his answer.
He shared that the real highlights of his year, of any year, are the simple moments of being together as a Family. Of seeing the kids become more themselves, of watching them grow and discover.
Those were his highlights.
And as he shared that I thought about the moments we have when it is stressful, and overwhelming and chaotic. Like last night when Ava after taking a can of seltzer out of the fridge, after having cried for 5 minutes at the table telling me she wanted it and then refused for 5 minutes in front of the open fridge as I tried to give it to her, dropped it and (because she'd been unleashing her toddler chaos all afternoon and was now not at all interested in eating her dinner) I said, "I can't deal with this." and he responded, "I can't either, I'm pretty tapped out." But still got up to manage it.
And still, those are the highlights.
Because we are together. And we prioritize spending time together.
And we are all growing in those moments.
It is beautiful and messy. The epitome of messy reality.
And his answer is why I married him. Why I chose him to start a family with. Why I will continue to choose him to grow with and watch our family grow with.
It is pretty awesome. Just like him.
Happy Birthday Matt! To another year of growing, and chaos and love with you.
