17 years and counting

November...how is it already November? Today is my 17th wedding anniversary.

Holy crap, this year flew by so quickly but I think I say that every year. I truly try to make the most of everyday but these past 2 months of our life has been chaotic and stressful. We are blessed that Patrick is in construction and was able to get our home repairs started but the post hurricane demands and "normal work" has become hard to manage at times. Work life balance is a struggle. But as with all of the events in our married life we will get through this and be stronger for it after the fact. We just need to keep reminding ourselves of this.

Over the past 17 years have collected so much "stuff". While the painters were moving all our furniture and belongings I saw how much we really have and that we need to declutter the house. Especially with Wyatt using his wheelchair more and more we need to have more open space for him to get around. So now that the painters are done it's time we start going through all of it.

I told the kids we need to start getting rid of things we no longer need. Wynston jumped in but Wyatt on the other hand loves to keep everything. He reminds me my Maw Maw Bud. He says, "my things help me remember all of the fun times." Wynston went through his room saying he needs to get rid of his stuffed animals and really anything that was not attached to his walls. After he bagged up his stuffed animals I ended up going through it again. As strange as it may sound, some of them have beautiful memories connected to them. As I looked through the bags I could picture Wynston searching for the perfect Mickey on our Disney Cruise and Wyatt hunting for one that was just right for Wynston while on a clinical trial trip. Those special animals I just couldn't part with so I put them in another bag that will get put up in the attic for another day.

In our "catch all closet" I found pre-wedding pictures and scrapbooks. God going through all of this is going to take me forever but it's nice to look back on all the times Patrick and I have shared together. We have had some really fun times and have faced so pretty big challenges. The pictures are a nice reminder that between all of the big events there are ordinary days that are just as meaningful.

Getting everything back in order is going to be a long process but instead of rushing through it I plan to take the time and look back on all the memories that we have created over the past 17 years and look forward to creating more in the future with my beautiful family.