1. Brett and I had such a humbling past weekend. We wanted to both celebrate our three year wedding anniversary and slip away for a weekend without the girls. It was long overdue. I was beginning a new job Monday, and so we settled for a brief trip to Lexington, Kentucky, as we both attended the University of Kentucky and hadn’t been down to visit since our wedding. We planned to go to Keeneland and Talon Winery (where we married). If you’re not from Kentucky, you may not know that Lexington is the horse capital of the world. The horses seriously live better than most people. However, after a drive down, we decided to visit each place we lived as opposed to dressing up and seeing the ponies. This turned out to be a wonderful decision.

    We started this drive a bit out of order, visiting the MLK (Short for Martin Luther King Street) House first (where we lived my sophomore year of college, and Jolie’s first year of life). I was not expecting to experience the magnitude of feelings I did pulling up to this worn mansion with pillars of chipped paint. This is where we began, the three of us. We lived on the fourth floor, I climbed the fire escape with my bike I used to commute the mile to campus. I climbed the fire escape with several bags of groceries and a baby in a car seat. Our friends, some of whom went on to be in our wedding and lives today, lived in the other apartments that made up the house. We would sit on old metal chairs around a lawn table in the backyard and play Apples to Apples, guitars, and just talk for hours while Jolie slept 4 floors up. I would carry the baby monitor around from apartment to apartment in the event that she woke up.

    I was barely legal with a baby of my own, and Brett, my high school sweetheart of sorts. I made roughly $6.25 an hour at the library while enrolled at U.K. full-time.This was not supposed to be my future. But, after deciding to keep Jolie, I had a choice: Get through the next four years with as much grace and perseverance as I could, or drop out for a bit. Well, I don’t quit things easily. I’m your typical Type A personality. And I certainly wasn’t going to quit myself.

    The sight of this house conjured up so many feelings, mostly pride. I fucking did it. I made it. I just stared at that old mansion for a long while. Quietly admiring it like some big trophy. I looked over at Brett and said, “Can you believe it. Look at where we’ve come.” It was then I realized that this trip was much more than a two day getaway from life.

    Each house we visited instantly reminded me of what Brett and I went through to be who we are today, what our family is today…. He’s an amazing person. We’re an amazing couple. I think I forgot that this past year. Anything I’ve lost sight of became crystal clear during this trip. It reminded me why paying a visit to your past brings you closer to your future, and undoubtedly sheds light to your present. Time has a funny sense of humor.

    We walked around campus, visited  William T. Young Library, where I was employed during college, and both of our colleges. That night we ate at one of our favorite local restaurants-Ramsey’s meatloaf and apple fritters topped off with Missy’s peanut butter pie (the most delectable of its kind)- followed by a movie at the Kentucky Theatre.  I can’t leave out our amazing omelette and danish breakfast we enjoyed the next morning at Magee’s (They make the best fudge icing for cakes and donuts ever- The aroma instantly hits you as you walk through the door of the sit-down bakery, which is always packed on the weekend mornings.)

    We ended our trip at Talon Winery. Where three years ago on the best kind of Kentucky fall day, we vowed to stay committed, and celebrated this commitment with our wonderful family and friends, drinking wine and dancing under a modest crescent moon.

    After a year of uncertainty and a breach of faith in myself and my family, this trip set me straight, reaffirming that everything I fought for was more than worth the fight.

Notes

About me

{instances from married life, child rearing
and old-home renovations}