June is always a special time of year. It is a month of tremendous celebration in the Mardis household and a month that I always take the time to reflect upon several important milestones.
First and foremost, I celebrated another year under my belt. 35...wow. I had no real feelings about turning 35 until my dearest friend Sarah texted me at 7:30 a.m. on June 2nd and said, "just think, we are now as close to 50 as we are 20". I guess 35 is still better than the alternative.
With each year of my life, I find myself gaining a little more confidence in the things I believe in and the ability I have to accomplish my dreams. Confidence is something I lacked for many years in my life and is now the one characteristic that I work at the hardest to instill in my kids. I often think about how much better I could have been at gymnastics or how much more assertive I could have been in standing up for what's right with just a little more confidence. I have learned that confidence is often built out of fear. It really just comes down to being willing and open to new things, thoughts, adventures. I see this in Kate on a daily basis and am envious of the lack of fear and in turn, the tremendous amount of confidence she has at such an early age. With that said, I guess I can happily attribute these few extra wrinkles and pounds with a new found confidence that only comes with age and experience.
The second celebration of June is our anniversary. Engraved in our wedding bands is the saying, "happiness always". I look at it most mornings and remind myself that no matter what is going on in my life, the life Ryan and I have built together is definitely one of "happiness always". I feel more proud, happy, and renewed in our relationship now than I did 6 years ago when we said "I do". No relationship is perfect, but the relationship we have is perfect for us. Ryan is one of the most patient souls on this planet, which is the perfect balance to my often inpatient self! 2011 has been a great but extremely busy and stressful year with the start of my new job. The health of our kids hasn't helped our (and by
our I mean
my) stress level as there have been a few nights in the past 6 weeks where my tears have been a reflection of the doubt of being able to handle it all. As always, Ryan's perfect demeanor has been my rescue and I will never forget the time when I looked at him and he said, "we are the Mardis's, we can do it". Kate then repeated him and said, "yea mommy, we can do it." It is this trust, understanding of each other, and willingness to compromise that puts my heart at ease each night and gives me the confidence to know that together, we can in fact do it. Even though it has only been 6 years of marriage, it has been 21 years of knowing and loving each other. There have been and will always be bumps but I am proud that we both are willing to build upon the foundation we have laid.
And last but not least, the 3rd celebration is Father's Day! I had the opportunity to witness a wonderful moment between Kate and Ryan on Friday morning. It is a memory that she has likely already forgotten but one that will always be etched in my memory and is a true reflection of the type of father Ryan is to our kids. As part of the typical morning routine, Ryan was getting dressed and Kate was procrastinating in getting ready for school. She was standing in Ryan's closet begging him to wear a tie with his usual slacks and dress shirt. The occassion of course was "Donuts with Dad" at school. Without question, Ryan let her pick out a tie that did not match his work outfit but he wore it with pride because his daughter asked him to. She then proceeded to pick out an outfit for herself that matched her daddy's lime green and navy stripped tie...all for "Donuts with Dad." It is the simple things that he does without question that when summed together, will be so meaningful to Kate in the long run. He has mastered the balance of when to say yes and when to say no.
One of the most important aspects of parenting is setting a good example and Ryan is just that. He shows our kids on a daily basis what it means to have fun and take everything in stride, yet also what it means to work hard and not take things for granted. Even though we will continue to make our fair share of parenting mistakes, I am confident that our kids will at least have had the opportunity to see a loving relationship between their parents and fully understand the role a father plays. He truly is the best and to that I say..."Happy Father's Day Ryan". We couldn't make it without you!
