A year of first, lasts and in-betweens

Another year has come and gone. Another calendar has filled itself up with birthday parties, toddler scribbling, doctor appointments, play dates and anniversary reminders. Another blank calendar sits on the corner of my desk, the empty spaces waiting for my pen markings. Exclamation marks signify a night away on the central coast with my love to celebrate the marriage of a very dear family friend. A balloon sticker marks the first birthday of my youngest daughter. A heart marks the third anniversary of a beloved cousin lost, while another heart circling the eighth of April marks my eighth wedding anniversary.

This year held lots of firsts and lasts for us. The first time we sold a house. The last time we walked the hallway of our little home on Bessemer Street. The first time I kissed Lily, moments after her birth. The last night we spent as a family of three, with Daisy wedged between us. The first day of work, teaching a new class, days after I signed the HR paperwork. The last time I patted my parents’ dog, Annie. The first time I left the girls with a non-relative babysitter, my first time as a marathon spectator. The last time I drove my blue CR-V, the last time I changed Daisy’s diaper. Lily’s first Christmas. 

I find myself remembering these moments, and I cannot help but think that 2012 was, for us, a year of transitions. A year of redefining our goals, a year of reprioritizing, a year of being intentional: in all that we do. I look forward to the New Year, starting out with waking up next to my love, our girls showering us with morning kisses, and knowing that whatever 2013 throws our way our family will tackle the first, lasts and in-betweens together.