It feels like yesterday… I still get a pit in my stomach thinking about driving away away away.. off to college… Jordan and I had to say goodbye for a little while and I felt sadder than sadder than sad. Today I keep a little picture of that moment by my front door so that I can always be reminded of how far we’ve come and how lucky we are to share a life and a home and everything special and sweet that surrounds us… our families, friends, pets, careers. We’ve built this world around our friendship and relationship and I am grateful every single day for it.

So this is that sad moment I just painted a picture of… (do you see little Mimi between us?). Ok wait.. Let’s take a moment and address my outfit / entire look… What was I thinking.. this was my first day of college.. I was SO not into it.. Nice cargo pants, first of all.. Is that a puka shell necklace?! Totally.. I probably had a Tiffany floating heart layered with that just to be extra cool. To top it all off I’m wearing a sports bra and what my mom makes me call an “egg” beater, since she’s not pleased with the traditional name for these thin, striated white tanks. You know what I’m saying. Oh, and Nice ‘do, Maddie. Maybe that’s why I had trouble making friends.

I think my favorite part is that we’ve grown together…. considering how much we have evolved as individuals, that’s an accomplishment that I’m way proud of. The then and now thought of it is truly astounding to me. Somewhere during the transition of  lacrosse stick to laptop, and puka shell necklace to handmade jewelry… colored contacts to thick rimmed glasses and white eye liner to none at all, it’s funny to think that we’re still a team that continues to ‘go together’…. And that’s not even taking into account the internal and intellectual growth that we’ve each undergone.

It would be a lie if I told you that these past 10 years have been filled with unicorns and perfect, big puffy hearts. We’ve had plenty of those, yes, but the truth is that it’s been a constant learning experience and a healthy challenge. We’ve worked our asses off in order to have and enjoy this balanced, solid, FUN relationship. Being apart for 4 years in college, creating a home together, having 2 dogs, being asked every other day when we’re going to tie the knot (haha)… that’s all exhausting!! But we power through it together and at this point we’re a well-oiled machine, totally equipped with a great set of tools. We are so lucky to have a home filled with love and happiness… and we make it our mission to find joy in the little things and the important things that can easily go unnoticed…One of the most important— to celebrate our families and our friends, which are both so much of who we are as individuals and as a team.

So here’s to appreciating, celebrating and being grateful for 10 years of laughter, team-work, love… and 100 more to come.

p.s. thanks @bananalady for snapping some of these uber awesome shots 🙂 xx