Three year Anniversary!

It is hard to believe it has been three years since we stood in this cute little Chapel and said "I do". SO much has happened since that day, so humor me while I take a little trip down memory lane! 

We were married on June 24th 2012, it was a beautiful summer day! We had the most amazing time celebrating with our loved ones who literally traveled from around the world to be there with us. Even as I write this I am overwhelmed with the love we felt that day, not only for each other, but for everyone in our lives!

 

Three days after our wedding we headed to our brand new apartment in DC which was also our first home together. It was one hell of a ride, I remember waking up after the first night and being so overwhelmed with happiness and utter fear. I had never lived that far from home, I knew absolutely no one besides Oliver and I was not working for two months. It turned out to be the best two years! We made friends and memories we will have for a lifetime. We made lots of mistakes, and learned big lessons. Most importantly it solidified the foundation of our marriage. I can honestly say we walked away from that experience better people and partners to one another.

Oliver graduated from his PhD, which was easily one of my proudest moments! In true Rick fashion after any big life event we packed up our stuff and moved. Back to Boston we went. We both started new jobs, and then started new jobs again. We got Clovis, our sweet pup who I can't imagine life without. Then things just settled down for a while which was quite refreshing for us!


























 And then came our biggest adventure yet...after lots of trials, tribulations and tears we are ecstatic to be adding to our family! We will be having our first child in December! I am still overwhelmed with emotions about it all (and I am not sure I can totally blame it on the hormones!). It was not the easiest road to get here, so I count my blessings and consider myself blessed to join the club of Motherhood to a sweet baby...

GIRL! :)

Thank you for reading and following along on our journey! 

XO

Revelations of my late 20's

I have officially been in my late 20's for a week. My birthday came and went, nothing really tangible changed, but somehow things feel a little different. I have always prided myself on doing things in my own time, never feeling pressured to "settle down" or plant roots unless it worked for me.

Oliver and I got married relatively young, we had been together for long enough to know we wanted to spend our lives together and didn't see the point in waiting any longer just because we were young, or because it wasn't what our friends were doing.

We have now been married for almost three years, I can easily say without question they have been the best years so far. We have learned from each other and grown a lot both as a couple and as individuals. After (nearly) three years of marriage we get asked pretty regularly "where are the babies?" "when are you buying a house?"  Suddenly I feel enormous amounts of pressure, as well as sense of being markedly behind in life.

I have never envied my friends who bought houses, had babies, or who landed their dream jobs. I am happy and proud of them but never felt like I was "behind" because I wasn't there. I knew our journey was different. My Husband spent his 20's in academia chasing his dreams of having a PhD, while I was fortunate enough to work in my chosen career which helped to sustain our lifestyle (to a certain degree).

I felt like we took life in stride and laughed off the baby comments together, until recently. Every time I look at social media I see another acquaintance is having a baby or two, someone else bought a house, endless engagement announcements and I just can't help but think what are we doing wrong? I am fully aware this makes me sound like a monster, and by writing this down for the world to see is pretty daring, but if you have ever felt like this you will understand. Then come the comments to you or your partner, so you know it isn't your imagination of social pressure. It is difficult to smile and nod, while people (harmlessly-or at least I hope) make comments that contribute to a feeling of shame for not being at the right point in life. I know the time will come but until then I wish people would think twice before they make you feel guilty for something you simply can not control. 

Until our time comes I will savor every minute with Oliver & Clovis in our cute (rented) apartment knowing that someday life will change drastically, we will reach our own goals in life, and we will look back to cherish the memories before babies & mortgages!