Thank You Lord, It's Calmer This Year

You know how Facebook likes to remind you of your memories from a year ago on this day? Or two? Or three?

My feed has been flooded lately with pictures from three years ago. Three years ago when things looked a little bit like this:

Okay, so some things never change. We're still picture freaks with coffee in our hands. But this was day one of our engagement photo shoot. Day one of worrying about whether or not the weather would hold...if all the pictures would get taken before the sun slid down...if the hair would sit still on a breezy autumn evening...day one of marking things off endless to-do lists.

Days like this one:

 Days when my hair was bad but I couldn't do anything about it because I was growing it out for a wedding. Days when we took the ONLY free day we had for miles to come and spent it road-tripping to bigger cities to knock out important stuff like finding a wedding ring for Ryan, a wedding outfit for Ryan, outfits for our groomsmen, bouquets for our bridesmaids...and this stop at Build-a-Bear to make the honorary bridesmaid and groomsman bears for our posthumous duo.

Days like this one:

...when God was gracious enough to let me find "the one" on the second try. When something I liked online actually worked ON ME. Days when my family and friends and co-workers sacrificed their time and came to be part of one of the most memorable days.

Days like this one:

...when I had a bridal shower and a bachelorette party in the same day because it fit for the one weekend my best friend could fly into town for pre-wedding festivities. Days when I met people in Ryan's family I'd never met before and tried to keep all their names straight. Days when I opened present after present and tried to balance between lingering in joy and moving along for the sake of those watching. Days when I ate delicious food {but with the dress in mind}.


And there was so much more. Evenings spent designing invitations, writing our program, writing our ceremony, making favors, going over the detail list AGAIN...

That was then.

And I loved everything about that season. It was so short and I made myself focus enough to savor every little bit of it. I wanted to remember it forever, and I still remember.

But ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh how glad I am it's this year and not three years ago. Not because it was bad then, but because breathing now is such a joy. SUCH a joy.

Ever have a season like that? You loved it and cherish it...but you are thanking the Lord it's calmer now?