Dawn Redwood

It’s been nearly six months since Gavin & I got married. Time has a funny way of rolling right along day by day, then when you look back from a certain vantage point, so much has taken place. Not being able to see the forest through the trees kind of feeling. But the change of seasons can serve as a measuring tool of how far you’ve come when you look at the bigger picture.

Summer for us has brought marriage, new jobs, a new home & the acclimatization of living with another human being. Each in itself has brought its own challenges & learning curve.

Having spent the entirety of the summer at the house unpacking, cleaning, donating & mowing, I was blessed with time alone to think. I passed the days one project at a time diving into it after Gavin went off to work. I took it upon myself as a personal challenge of sorts to conquer the mass quantity of items around me. And the familiar voices of talk radio & podcasts kept me company. When evening came, I was excited to show Gavin the small victories of my day whether that be straighter mowing lines in the yard or being able to see the garage floor for the first time uncovered from the piles.

As I look back on May 19th, our wedding day, I realize how far Gavin & I have come as well. Along with everything else, it’s taken time to learn how to be husband & wife. From the day we unified our marriage with water & soil, it’s been a practice of working to grow together rather than apart.

I’m realizing that marriage brings a refinement of character in oneself that no other relationship can. And what I really mean is that it’s brought out the worst in me more times than I’d like to say. We’ve both had our moments, but we try damn hard every day to be better than we were the day before, and that’s all I could ever ask for.

I planted the Dawn Redwood tree from our ceremony on the property a couple of weeks ago before the frost set in. As I stood back to see that tiny tree in the ground, it sobered me to the fact that Gavin & I will be long gone before that Redwood ever towers hundreds of feet into the sky.

But whenever I look out into the field & see it standing so small & delicate, I’m reminded that it’s establishing itself & growing a little more each day. Just like with us, I’m learning that our story is far from over.

It’s just beginning.