The Checklist

     I've got great news! Jon and I are moving into an apartment by June 1st! It has been a long hard search with lots of patience and prayer, but we are going to have our own place again! It's got a great view, is close to Jon's work (I'm going to start working from home), we can walk to a lot of cool restaurants and stores, and it's the perfect "first apartment". We have been looking to move for a while now, but things haven't fallen into place like it did for this one, and it's finally the perfect place and timing for us to move. I've been on a Pinterest spurt looking up different ways to organize and decorate and oh my goodness I can't even tell you how excited I am!
     My littlest sister is ecstatic as well because I told her when I got married that first we'd have to find a place to live, then get a dog, then we can have a baby. So, according to her, she is now eons closer to becoming an aunt and spoiling the socks of her first niece.
     Anyway, for the past few months I've enjoyed living with Jon's grandma but I've almost felt kind of stuck because as long as I can remember there's been a certain progression of life events going on in my head and well, things weren't going as planned (although I keep learning over and over that nothing really ever goes as planned lol). So, I thought it'd be fun to write down the list I have in my head and see what happens/doesn't happen according to schedule. (This is going to be great to look back and laugh at here in a few years, haha!)

1. Get married. Check...!
2. Get a "first five years of marriage apartment". Check...!
3. Get a dog (or two maybe).
4. Have a baby.
5. Move into a respectable 3-4 bedroom house with a backyard in a nice neighborhood that our family can grow into and is nice to raise kids in.
6. Have a baby.
7. Fix the roof or maybe update the landscaping, whichever is better at the time.
8. Have a baby.
9. Have a baby.
10. See each of our kids off to school and/or get married and have their own families.
11. Move into our dream home.

     Now, obviously there are many life events that will happen in between these major ones and I don't want to undermine or miss out on a single one, but in my head this is how life will go. Even with all the planning and dreaming I can't remind myself enough to be happy with where I am right now, to not rush into things or pine for the future but to enjoy every moment in the moment. I'm going to smile as I remember the sweet months we've spent with grandma, the memories we made our first year together, the steak and wine talks on the patio, our friendship that has flourished with each passing day, getting into new favorite shows, long walks, and suffering through 20 year old arthritis. I'm so glad I've taken the time to commit each of those events into memory, but I am soooo looking forward to this new stage! Happy day, y'all!

Live. Laugh. Love.