m i l e s t o n e s

A year ago today I was in Wyoming with Mike's family. It was such a wonderful trip and I am so grateful I was able to tag along. I want to talk about a really hard night. But one I will remember forever. I think it was our last night in Wyoming, in fact. Mike was about to go back to his room and Erika and I were telling him to stay just a little longer. Erika looks at her countdown app. and yells, "14 days, 14 days!" That was all he had left, just fourteen days. It really kind of hit me. I walked Mike out. He was exhausted and ready to sleep. When I went out, I hugged and kissed him goodnight, but I told him that I was just going to sit outside for a bit just to think. He told me he didn't want me out there and then I just kind of broke down. We ended up sitting out there for about an hour while I had a really embarrassing full-on bawl fest. I guess Erika could hear it all happening from inside and assumed we were breaking up or something. Haha. After about an hour I told Mike to just go in to bed and I would calm down and then go in with Erika. I didn't want to go in at that point to make her sad, too. But I guess she already was in the room bawling, little did we know. So Mike went in with her to explain what was happening (since he insisted that I didn't stay out there alone) and then they came and got me and we all sat on the bed in a huge pile of tears. At that point, Mike was bawling, too. 

Erika and I ended up staying up until about five in the morning just talking and talking, talking about everything, anything we could think of. The whole night was hard, just so hard. But it was also special and important. And now it's been a year, a year since that day and we can say, "14 days, 14 days!" Just fourteen days until the year mark. Isn't that amazing? Time flew, honestly. I really thought it would snail by and practically kill me. But it surprised me.  

I made it and now, now it's easy. (Just fourteen days and then it's easy, down the roller coaster we go. And that? That's the fun part.) 

Here's to a special day and celebrating milestones.