Finding Forty

In 2016, we were just a young couple standing under a supermoon. We were two people with more potential than plans, more wonder than certainty. The only thing we knew for sure was that someday, somehow, we wanted to foster. Beyond that, nothing felt certain and nothing was mapped out.

We didn’t know what our marriage would demand from us. I didn’t know that a second marriage could feel safe and steady. He didn’t know the depth of healing he would help make possible.

We had no idea what “home” would look like. We bought a house and made it a home, something stable and secure and all ours.

We didn’t know what family would feel like. We didn’t know how wild and tender parenting would be. We didn’t know how much grit we would need or how much softness we would learn.

And while I was already well into my career, we couldn’t see what seasons of growth we would walk through personally, professionally, or financially.

But here’s what we did know. We loved each other. We believed in each other. We were willing to build something neither of us had ever seen modeled before.

Nearly ten years later, I can say this with confidence. We have lived our vows.

In sickness and in health.

For better or worse.

For richer or poorer.

In good times and bad.

(Thank you marriage counseling 🤭)

I was skeptical. He was steady and confident. He promised me a life that wouldn’t look like the one I came from, a life filled with safety, softness, and partnership. And every single day, in every season, he has poured himself into doing exactly that.

The younger versions of us, standing under that first supermoon, could never have imagined the storms we would walk through. The babies we would hold. The griefs we would face. The mountains we would climb. The joy we would fight for. The growth that would stretch us and change us.

Tonight, as we stand beneath another supermoon, I find myself hoping we are just as naïve now as we were then. Blissfully unaware of all the joy still waiting for us.

There is something sacred in walking forward together. In spending a decade laying a strong foundation. In trusting that the love and grit that carried us this far will carry us into whatever comes next.

Here’s to more years and more moons.

Here’s to showing up when it’s messy and when it’s magical.

Here’s to building a life neither of us knew was possible.

Here’s to doing life, love, chaos, and moon-watching forever. 🤭🌕