Celebrating 143 Months of Love

 

I think I need another day before I talk more about Braeya Jo, so I’m going to spend today talking about our monthiversary, and maybe by tomorrow I can talk about saying goodbye to our girl.

            Saturday was our 143^rd monthiversary, and we had no idea that we would be wallowing in all the feelings of a goodbye when that day came. It may not have been the most fun day we’ve ever had, but I loved it that we got to spend the day together, resting our souls from the wounding and grief.

            Our first order of business was a coffee date. We’ve had this date on the calendar twice before, and both times, it had to be canceled because of other things coming up, so this time we were determined to make it happen. Ryan visited Rooster Joe’s coffee shop (in Ohio) a few months ago while on a work trip, and he’s been wanting to take me ever since!

            The morning was foggy – but the beautiful kind of fog with sun peeking through. Made for a gorgeous drive over. We arrived at the coffee shop right before a huge line, so we were thankful for that!

            This shop was really beautiful. It was clean and classy, and we even got to sit on a gorgeous velvet couch at the end of the room. I only had two complaints about the experience. One was that they didn’t have anything (that I could spy, anyway) on the food menu for people trying to make healthy food choices. Everything was either a pastry or a sandwich. Make no mistake: it was delicious. But they didn’t have any lighter options. They also didn’t have a printed menu anywhere, so we were trying to point to things in the case and guess about what we might want. (With a long line behind us, this kind of stressed me out.) But those are minor issues and everything else about our visit was good.

            Ryan got a breakfast sandwich and cinnamon roll and declared both to be amazing. I had a breakfast sandwich and really loved all the flavor in it.

            We had good conversation all the way to and from the shop – and while we ate, too. It was a much-needed time away from life for a few minutes.

            We stopped by a thrift shop and found a few treasures – all for less than $2.00 including tax. That’s my favorite kind of day!

            It was such a pretty day that we squeezed in a walk with Lexi...

            In the afternoon, we headed to Ryan’s new office to do more decorating. We had planned to finish it, but alas, we were unable to get into a room that held one piece of furniture he is moving into the office, so we couldn’t quite complete the project. But I love what we’ve been able to do so far.

            We decided to stay and have dinner with my parents, and we had a good time together.

            Ryan and I love a good celebration, and when we look at life from the big picture perspective, we certainly have much to celebrate. We are grateful for that. But life isn’t always fun and easy, and that has been true for us over the past few days. I think what I celebrated most on this monthiversary was knowing that Ryan is absolutely right there to comfort on the hard days every bit as much as he is there to celebrate on the fun days.

            Ryan, thank you for loving me so well, for holding my hand when the circumstances of life are too hard, and for encouraging me with your presence and words. 143 months have flown, and I’m glad for this life we share – good days and hard days alike!