Three Years Ago...

I was graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. I was sitting beside Mark, both of us dressed in our caps and gowns eagerly anticpating that ceremonial walk across the stage. The first walk we would make together. At the time he was not my husband, not the father of my child, not the man that I share a mortgage and my life with. At the time he was just my boyfriend. He was one of the only a handful males that shared my major, the one who would always sit beside me in class and tell me about his latest hunting trip, and won my heart as I witnessed him mentor a young boy in a local low-income high school. A mentorship that would eventually lead this young man to graduate at the top of his class and earn a scholarship to Auburn. Today, he is a full-time student on his way to his own journalism degree.

How did we get to where we are today? Well, it has been a whirlwind I tell you. We have lived in Auburn, obviously. We have also lived in Huntsville, Aiken, S.C., and for the past year, we live in Calera, a small town just south of Birmingham. Each place that we have lived in has been an incredible experience. We have some amazing friends that will always be a part of our lives, and I know that the Lord always has a plan. Each of these short stints had a purpose, and I am so, so grateful at we have gained in these past three years. All of our experiences have stretched us, and strengthened us. Nothing has been easy, but now I can look back and realize that all of this has helped to get us where we are today. I am in a wonderful marriage- not perfect, because nothing in this life is- but not a day goes by where I don't know the love that my husband has for me. I have a wonderful, happy and healthy child- I live in a beautiful house...and I have a great job- God has been so good and faithful- he has blessed us more than I could ever imagine.

I will always miss Auburn, and there are so, so many memories. It is where the majority of my growth into adulthood occured. It is where I made life-long friends, gained worldly-understanding, where I met my husband, and where I learned who I truly was in Christ. I believe you never truly can learn about faith until you are out on your own, and you can never
know the feeling og grace and mercy until you have wandered out on your own and strayed from what you know is right and pure. Places I remember the most are the little house on Thatch Ave. that I shared with three of my best friends for two years, Mama G's, Big Blue Bagel, Jordan Hare Stadium among many others...

I will miss Huntsville for the Bufkins. Sharon, Chris and the kids are family to us. They are the best kind of people to have in your life- the kind that will always be there for you. When Mark was transferred and I was on my own with the house and so lonely, The Bufkins made sure I wate dinner with them each night, and made me laugh. They will always be apart of our lives and I miss seeing them every day. I also miss Rosie's. Holy Cow, it is the BEST mexican in the world.

I will miss South Carolina for its uniqueness. In a world where everything is so fast-paced, South Carolina seemed to take everything in stride. It was a relaxing stopping point for me... and every day there felt like a vacation of sorts. I miss my lunch dates with Kathy- and I miss the many play dates we would have had with our little boys I miss Groucho's and I miss a great Zesto's cheeseburger.

Three years have come and gone, and I am a stronger, wiser, more confident individual. I am a child of God, a wife, a mother , a daughter to two families now and a friend. Thanks to everyone who has had an impact on my life- you mean more to me than you realize.