The Gentleness of the Years

There are three things I am grateful for.
1. That the high point of my life wasn't highschool (THANK GOD or else my life would be incredibly depressing)
2. That the high point of my life wasn't college
3. That the high point of my life was not the immediate wild year(s) following graduation

I always thinks its sad when the years a person considers to be the best ones are those ones. Because what about the remainder of our (hopefully) long and responsibility laden lives?

Wednesday night I spent the first night since marriage (almost two whole months of it!) away from Nick. My dear, dear friend Heather and I went to see Kimbra in Boston which was amazing-- her voice, her costumes, her dancing! All incredible. We felt young but also grown up, because we are young but also grown up. And in light of these combined feelings, we went home at looked through pictures of ourselves from the beginning of  our friendship away back in 2006. All I can say is, thank goodness for the kindness of the years.
Heather and Sarah (both of whom were maids of honor at my wedding) are two of my oldest friends, and I laughed loud and long at the pictures of myself with them along the way. And so, to show that time is only a friend and never an enemy (until I start getting wrinkles and then I'll change my tune) I'm providing a timeline.
We've done so many things over the years. Trips to Thailand and Italy (with Sarah) Scotland, and England (with Heather). Cross country road adventures (with Heather and company) and more embarrassing and ridiculous experiences in our boring Christian dorm rooms than I care to remember. And I'm glad for it. It built lots of character...

Get ready.

In the Beginning. 2006. Sarah and I come back from Thailand. Heather and I go to Winter Ball-- an alcohol free school dance...

We feel like celebrities.

And so do we. Adorable.

2007. We begin to feel like Real Adults. 

   Nothing short of precious, I know.

2008. We begin to Experience The World (outside of Asia). I study in Italy, and Sarah visits me. I come home, Worldly and Wise.

Much of our time in Italy is spent trying on Italian clothing and drinking amaretto sours. 

Italian clothes most likely after amaretto sours. 

 Worldly Wise.

We celebrate our First Halloween in Salem

 Unfortunately, somewhere along the road this happens. 

2009. I enter my senior year of college with all kinds of artistic expressions of depression. I celebrate the New Year in Thailand. 

 Sawadee Kha.

As a graduate, Heather, myself, and two other friends live in a Real Apartment. To celebrate our adulthood, we go to a Harry Potter Midnight Showing.

2010. Somehow, Nick falls in love with me. Sarah gets married. 

Sarah looks gorgeous per usual. I look subpar at best. 

Oh, and also this happens. 

2011. Things finally begin to look up. I get a ring towards the end, and somehow I don't see Sarah. 

We also celebrate our third Halloween in Salem. We pull it together. 

And finally, the Today. A bachelorette party, a wedding. And life piled upon life. 

So. The moral of the story is: always looks ahead and assume that things can only get better.

However, for Alice the Cat, He couldn't improve upon his distracting adorable-ness as a kitten. But at least now he gets to hunt for wildlife.