Twenty-four, I’ll admit I’m a little sad to see you go. You were a great year, full of more life changes, experiences, and transitions than I imagine many upcoming years will hold. You’ve made me laugh and play and dream, cry on the floor of my closet, and grow and mature in a million and one ways.
In this year that felt like so many years squished into one, you’ve taught me the value of my husband’s heart. You’ve taught me to value Jordan’s faithfulness, joy, spontaneity, leadership, and strength. You’ve taught me that the fact that my husband is different than me is one of God’s greatest gifts, and not something I should fight to change or control or “fix.”
You’ve taught me that the world is full of wonderful, beautiful people, and it’s worth a dwindling savings account to fly across the world to meet them. You showed me that German beer is delicious and served by the liter (who knew?!), that the Swiss Alps are the most rainbow-filled,magical place on earth, that the Irish coast is home to some of the nicest people in the world, and that Paris is actually more smelly and less romantic than the movies make it out to be.
You’ve shown me that living with an animal is not as weird as my never-before-pet-owning self thought it would be. In fact, living with a mini black labrador has made me a happier, more joyful, loving, and generally snugglier human being. And that’s definitely worth the black hairs on my dress pants and the occasional torn up pair of shoes (RIP burlap Toms. You had a brief but beautiful life).
Twenty four, you’ve shown me that becoming a grownup is not as scary as it seems. You showed me I can put an offer on a house, BUY that house, and take steps to decorate it in a style that I love and that brings me joy (Who cares if it’s as good, clean, or beautifully decorated as the neighbors?). You’ve taught me that my visions of crafts, DIY projects, and spaces in our home are worth attempting, that I can create beauty with my hands and actually admit to the world that I think what I made is beautiful and worth noticing, reading, seeing, recreating.
You’ve taught me that our home is an incredible gift, and that opening it up to our friends, family, and Airbnb guests is worth the dishes in the sink, the piles of shoes strewn by the front door, and the loads and loads of laundry so our guest bed is always ready for the next person needing a comfy place to crash for the night.
You have been an incredible year, and I’m leaving you a deeper, more joyful, grounded, and brave woman. You’ve broken me, challenged me, and drawn me out of myself, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything. But life moves on, and it’s time for me to keep moving forward.
Thanks for the memories, twenty-four.
Bring it on, twenty-five.
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