The Top Nine



Today, Kevin and I have been married for nine years.  Nine years ago today, I woke up, ran 10 miles, fit nicely into my small wedding dress, danced over my parents pool... and packed a bikini for vacation. 

Today, I will get up, entertain three kids with oatmeal and cartoons, try on five outfits until one actually fits, hopefully remember to brush my teeth, and continue work on a bath remodel during nap time.

A lot has happened in nine years.  Four of them are kids.  Which is a major blame for my clothing issues at the moment.  However, instead of looking in the mirror (or pictures) and quickly listing the top nine negatives that nine years has had on this 5'2" mom... I'm going to list my favorites.  My top nine favorites of why I like being married to Kevin Mitchell.  In no particular order.

1. He's still got the best hair ever.  Still jealous of it, and still love it.  Nothing says "we've made it so far" like a full head of hair.

2.  He drove a white Corolla for 8 1/2 yrs of the marriage, and never complained.  At best, it could have been described as a cute car... for a woman.  At worst, it was plain embarassing, and loud.  And yet even though today he has a sweet Saab, he would still trade it in for another Corolla, or even a bus pass, if that was what the family needed.  He's just not a material type of guy. 

3.  He still writes me love notes, like a professional writer.  And they would still be embarrassing for anyone else to read.  Love that.

4.  Even though he holds a professional job, is a dad, and has a lot of pressures, he will blast the latest and greatest pop sensation music likes he's 15.  It keeps us young.

5.  He makes me feel smart when I get one out of 20 Jeapardy questions right.  Even though he knows most of the answers, he keeps them to himself to make me feel better.

6.  He works extremely hard and long hours, but is still the best dad our kids could ever ask for.  Which is why when I worry about having one more, I remember who my husband is, and then I calm down.

7.  He is generous with me.  We like our budget, but he has always understood that stay at home Moms need to feel special.  And he knows how to do that, and where the closest mall is.

8.   He took me out of the Johnson's, but doesn't fight to take the Johnson out of me.  Meaning... he has learned over the past nine years that I like to redo, reuse, and re-paint.  We are re-habbers to our core. And he gives me the freedom to be the creative, crazy, multi-tasking loony that I am most days.  And usually, all I get is an impressed eyebrow arch or a nice smile. 

9.  He still thinks I'm pretty.  Even though I'm pregnant.  Even though I'm currently pushing a + 15.  You gotta like that one, even after nine years, and no bikini in sight. 

It's been a busy and memorable nine years.  We may not look like babies anymore, and we might be a bit more stressed out most days than we were sans kids, a mortgage; and a life.  But every day is worth it.  And every day I'm delighted when he comes home.  I would say that's a good start to the next 50. 

Happy Nine Years Kevin.  I sure am glad that I was a Fool, and rushed into You. 

(Enjoy some old wedding highlights)...

The Brothers: Before



The runner back then... even in heals, always striking a racer pose



The Dance Floor.  Just so my friends here can see it.

Our "Father of the Bride" backyard reception.  It was amazing.

Fathers Day

We had a busy day yesterday trying to work on a bathroom project.  So Father's Day was  a combination of saws, hammers, and sweat.  All things I'm sure that Kevin LOVED doing on his special day.  But he's good at it.. and thankfully his mom was here to help with the kids.  So it was actually pleasant getting things done without having to tend to a fight over cars every two minutes. 

I thought I would revisit the video we made for Kevin last year, since I didn't have time to make an updated one this year.  But it's a good one, if you know Kevin, and you somewhat like our kids:).  
So Happy Father's Day 2011 Kevin..  even though we have to watch the 2010 movie.  We still think you're the slammin' Dad that we did last year.  Thanks for all that you do.

Purgatory

I'm not getting into a theological discussion, but it is fun to throw in a "shocker" heading for all of my Evangelical friends, and a familiar one for those Catholic followers.  So everyone can relax, and continue reading... this blog is about the Mitchell family, not intense debates (although I do like those also).

My "purgatory" if you will allow me to borrow the term, is found on Route 30, the East/ West highway, or as we better know it, the route from here, to Columbus.  And as I was once again making the drive today, I was finally able to label the odd feeling that I have every time that we make that drive.  Which is often monthly, sometimes multiple times per month.  So much so that I feel as though I am neighbors with the farmers along the route, and the horses could recognize my white van by plate number. 

Living three hours from where both Kevin and I had most or all of our childhood, up until we left for college together is a blessing, and a curse.  Such a blessing in that whenever we miss or want to see family, we can hop on the road for a few short hours, save on plane costs, and be there.  A curse in that we never can quite say which home is actually, "Home."  It's an odd sense of living in the in-between.  Belonging to one, yet having most of our history in another.  Desperately wanting to make the new feel familiar, while never quite shaking the memories of how much the past means to us, or the people who make it so special.

It is here, along Highway 30, that I transition my roles;  I slowly become more of the me who is a daughter, sister, or daughter-in-law, while becoming less the outgoing host of new friends, new churches, new doctors, and new neighbors.  It is somewhat of a waiting stage.  A renewal of personality in both directions, depending on whether I am driving East, or West.   And, as some believe of Purgatory, it is a period of suffering.  A mourning in the realization that in either of my homes, the sense of true belonging doesn't exist.  Some days I feel more familiar with one over the other, and other days I feel as if a stranger in both.

Deep thoughts for a blog, I know.  But because this drive has been happening now for over 3 years, it was a relief to finally be able to put it into words.  They are simple growing pains, sure.  Yet they are also a great reminder of 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For  now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 

My true home isn't at either ends of Route 30.  And it's encouraging to realize that my unfamiliar feelings in both places is God's way of reminding me that in the end, home rests with Him.  We all want that "Cheers" setting.  And it will come, just maybe not right now, or right here.  But some day we will completely belong.  And we won't have to drive past smelly cows to get there.  So I've found my "purgatory" here on earth.  Whether it exists or not after we pass is up for debate.  But not on this blog.  For now I will continue to do my drive, think through my thoughts, and work through the growing pains that inevitably come, no matter where home is.