Can you tell I'm on vacation and more or less rained in? It's not actually raining right now but it may as well be because it's mid-July and the sun's not shining. This morning it was raining and the wind has been howling much of today. It's days like today that I really wish we had a fireplace and that I had a good book to curl up with. Instead, I turn to you. Or blogging at least.
Today could have been a special day. Well, really, every day is. That's a lesson I've come to learn in the last 26+ years. Every day is a gift. I've met some incredible people along the way who've helped affirm and re-affirm this. Alas, I digress...today could have been a special day. Or so the numbers and Dr. Mario say.
7.14.11.
I don't know if my old roommate, Kimbo, will read this but this one's for her. In my very last semester at BYU-Idaho as a senior Senior on the brink of graduation, I had the great opportunity of living with some extraordinary women including Kimbo, a sweet Southern girl with an accent that could cut through the hardest heart and a spirit that matched her southern drawl's sincerity and sweetness. Though Kimbo had found the love of her life and was in wedding planning mode, unlike many fiancees I'd been around (sadly myself included), she didn't lose sight of her friends and spent many a day and night making memories and causing raucous laughter at Albion house.
One night, when I probably should have been sleeping or studying, I started playing our other roommate Christi Cox's (Coxy) Nintendo. Not just any gaming console but the ORIGINAL Nintendo. That particular summer I became a Dr. Mario addict. I'd challenge roommate after roommate to game after game. This night it was Kimbo on the floor. After playing well into the night, watching the clock's hours turn from double digits to single digits, Kimbo and I stopped competing and I decided to take on the computer at the highest level.
As I failed time after time, I started making wagers with the Nintendo Gods (I imagine they have raccoon tails and carry Duck Hunter guns) with Kimbo as my witness. Like any well educated, reasonable girl, I started proposing wedding dates based on my ability to master the hardest level at that particular turn. "Kimbo, if I win this time, I'm getting married August 8, 2010." I'd say at least a half dozen or maybe a dozen dates were thrown out before I actually won. And it definitely didn't turn out to be the day I actually got married. In fact, at that time I hadn't even started dating Sterling (although I had already met him).
Isn't that the way life goes? Okay, that example's a little extreme and probably a result of it being 3 or 4 in the morning but I find that we can't really plan life's grandest events exactly. I didn't know then that in just over six months I would be married to the love of my life. I couldn't have guessed that in a million years. First of all, I was always the slow one to trust and really let my walls fall down. Second of all, at that time I was just over a month away from graduating from BYU-Idaho (aka BYU-I-Do for many) and moving back to a place I'd spent years being single. In the back of my head, that plea to the Nintendo Gods and anyone who'd listen was pure fantasy. But unbeknownst to me, it became a reality much sooner than I'd anticipated.
Now that Sterling and I are happily married and approaching our two year mark, it seems more of life's grandest events are just around the corner and as much as I can try to plan for them, some are just going to come and some might not. That's the great challenge and joy of life. We can't expect every little thing to unfold as we please. As we try to map out parenthood, future job prospects, when/where we'll buy a home, setting a timeline is well and good but not necessarily something I or the Nintendo Gods can control.
I do know that there is someone who knows and has control though. I'm so thankful my Heavenly Father has a plan for me and us, and am so glad to know He's a way better planner than I could ever be. But boy would I ever love to take a peek at His blueprints for my life. I've never been one to skip ahead to the end of a mystery novel just to see who'd actually 'done it' but I have been known to frequent the Big Brother web sites just to find out who's nominated before the episode is actually aired. There's a big part of me that wants to know what's next and when will it be here? There again is another joy of life. We don't know.
We live the day-to-day trying to do our best and sometimes fall very short. We can plan, budget, worry and work, but we can't anticipate every turn in the path we're taking. Sometimes we lose sight of the path and sometimes we find a straight stretch we can see ahead for miles. The great key is that no matter where the path is leading, we're the ones walking it. We can choose whether to keep a steady pace or slow down for a while. We can choose to look back or forge ahead. That knowledge gives me great hope and helps me appreciate the journey that much more. No matter where we're going--when the kids will come, where they'll grow up, or what type of job Dad will be coming home from at the end of the day--I know I'll be walking the path at my pace and alongside my best friend.
Today was supposed to be a special day and it was. The Blue Jays are up 9-4 over the Yankees for one. And I've spent the entire day with Sterling. After a year that saw him move to Idaho to finish up his degree and a long playoff run that kept me away far more than either of us would like, it's moments like these that I really appreciate. Now if only the sun would make an appearance...maybe it's time to summon the Nintendo Gods. I could really use some bonding time with the Doctor.
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