40 And Counting

Dear Jason,
40 years ago, there was you.
35 years ago, there was me.
10 years ago, there was we.

You were nearing the end of your 20’s.
And I remember how much you were dreading turning 30.
The old jokes never got old and you pretty much thought your life was over.

You just had no idea that it was only just beginning.

7 months in as boyfriend and girlfriend, you popped the question.
Crazy to think. 8 short months down the road, you’d be waiting for me down the aisle.
And shortly after, a not so short 8,000 mile journey awaited us.
Our Fiji adventure greeted us with 40 plus degrees and the warmest, most tropical embrace.
It was the perfect getaway and the most perfect beginning to our greater adventure.

We took off up in the clouds and we stayed up on cloud 9.
2 months in as Mister and Blisses, I got let go from my 9 to 5.
Another 2 months later, you joined the funemployment club.
And just like that our honeymoon was over.

With no Social Media as a pastime, we had a lot of face time. We dreamed about starting our own venture by day and painted all 8 rooms in our house til night.
It was a season of home improvement and self improvement. And we did it all, got through it all, together. Without Netflix.

5 months and 5 pennies in our bank account later, by the Grace of God, we both got hired!
5 months employed and we received something much greater than a raise, bonus or a promotion. We were going to be full time Appa and mommy!
5 months pregnant, we bought a crib for our growing family! And then $500,000 in debt later, we bought a crib.

4 months later, we were blessed with Zoey.
27 months later, we were blessed again with Emma.
23 months later, we were blessed yet again with Romy.

Sometime squeezed in between Zoey and Emma, we were blessed with a van too.

Jason, your 30’s was a pretty incredible chapter.
Time has truly proven to be a gift, time and time again.
And in seasons where we lost hope, we found reasons to never lose faith.

But every decade proves to top the last one so I’m looking forward to seeing what 40 will look like.
They say 40 is just a number, but a number is not just a number. Every number has the power to tell a story that shows God’s grace and His perfect timing and plan for us.
Today, 40 might just feel like a number. Or it might make you feel really old. Or like you have to run out and buy a Harley and get a tattoo of all your girls’ faces.
But with the greater picture in focus, 40 is your year to make it count not just for this lifetime, but for eternity.
With God, with people, with us, with a purpose beyond our fleeting time here, it will be pretty incredible.

Every year we’re given the chance to live more and more beyond ourselves and to give back love to this world.
That’s the kind of person you are to us and we hope you will always feel loved back.

Here’s to 40 and making every year, month, moment count today, tomorrow and for eternity.
Happy Birthday to an Appa who gets better with age and will forever be our number 1.
JZER