three's a charm.

three years ago today i married the love of my life. these have been some of the fastest years of my life and hands-down hold some of the most fun moments.

i have two bits of advice i like to give my friends who are about to get married:
1) enjoy the day of your wedding from beginning to end in all its glory. that day will move so quickly, you'll be hammering your brain trying to remember the BIG things - not to mention the little. use the day to reflect on where you've come - as an individual and as a couple - and be sure to take time out for each other that night at the party. it's so easy to get caught up in reception details, or wonder if every one's having a fun time, or want to kill the bridesmaid didn't follow shoe requirements. but really, truly, none of this stuff matters. i'm here to tell you on the other side, it doesn't.

2) when the party is over, the guests have all left, the dress is packed up and all is said and done, the REAL fun begins. i thank my mom for this little tid-bit. i was determined to wallow in my post-wedding blues, wondering what to plan next and making dramatic comments about how there was nothing to do but have kids, retire and die. but it's soooooooooooo not true. every day of marriage never ceases to surprise me and i enjoy the challenges as much as the easy parts.

sometimes i look at e and i can't believe how much he's grown and who he's become - for me, for us and for himself. i look at myself the same way and i'm proud of this thing we've built. i know there's so much more goodness to come and sometimes i have to remind myself to slow down, smell the roses and enjoy the present, because i get so full thinking about where we're off to next - just the two of us and our dreams.

i'm thankful everyday for my sister who introduced us and saw the good in what we could be before either of us did. i'll never be able to repay her. and i'm so grateful for the patience that e's given me over the years and his endless love. he turned my head and my heart around and he made me realize that i could have this wonderful thing called love and more than that, that i wanted it. he saved me and for that, i'll never be able to repay him. and this is good debt to have.

i love you e. happy anniversary!

april at last.

oh but i do. spring, get on up here to new england.

coming up roses.

ten years ago my dad reached remission after a seriously tough battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. he entered the winter of 2001 with his head as bare as the trees and his skin as grey as the december sky. needless to say, while he was indeed the same man, this was a side of him i'd never seen. but...in the nick of time and right on par with the seasons, spring brought a breakthrough in his diagnosis - just when my whole family needed it most. his eyelashes and brows began to sprout like the azaleas and on my visits home from college, i watched color and strength return to both the backyard and my father. i've vowed to never forget that feeling of hope returning. everything appeared new again, diminishing all signs of what that winter had brought. it was truly a spring like no other and since then that's how each one has been for me.

this quote sums up that spring in 2002 as well as how i still feel today. it'll never cease to amaze me that just when i've almost forgotten what sun feels like, how bright green grass is or how fragrant flowers are, spring swoops in proving it does in fact still exist and nothing has ever been quite so sweet.

get up, get out

it's officially spring and the weather these past few days couldn't be more fitting.

i'd like to say i've been waiting all winter for today, but the truth is, we were blessed with a rather mild last three months. of all the seasonal transitions, i love this one the most. i love watching things come back to life after a few months of winter and i find it always awakens a bit of myself as well.

i'm a "stop to smell the roses" kind of gal and this time of year, that's exactly what i do. for me, it's a sensory/memory overload:

• the daffodils remind me of my grandma beale's garden from my childhood
• the morning birds take me back to my quiet home in NC (which i'll happily be visiting in just a few weeks!)
• the lighter spirits during cocktail hour conjure craziness of spring breaks past
• and most of all, that extra hour of light reminds me to not just get out, but stay out to enjoy it all.

when i first moved up north, i wasn't aware of what a HUGE deal spring was until i went through my first winter. i'd always taken the pollen-soaked 75-degree march days in NC for granted. but now i see that spring is a calling, a begging almost, to come back to these places of life - wherever and whatever they may be for you. and each year, on this day, i gladly return.

*for you, a favorite that always reminds me of my last spring in NC