10 years

is a long time to be with someone. My husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary on the 25th and our 6th wedding anniversary on the 24th. When we first met we were babies (okay, so 19 years old is a baby to me, looking back at it now!), and it's hard to believe it's been 10 years. 10 years of sometimes bliss, sometimes struggle (both in our relationship and financially), and moments of joy we won't forget, like when our daughter was born. It's hard to put into words how I feel about my family- it's indescribable, and yet, we have faced some tough challenges this year with my going back to full-time work. So far we have trudged through, but you just never know. Making it to 10 years is a huge milestone, and while my husband says we should wait to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in 4 years from now, we'll have a scaled-down version of this one.

My hope? For another 10 years, even with the drama and challenges.

I will admit that sometimes I tend to take my work and put it above everything else, like my dad did as I was growing up, but that's the way I was raised. Of course my family is in the picture, but work is also important. I guess you can call that ambition, as I have heard that specific word come from at least two different people in the last three months when they were describing me. I am still trying to learn how to balance ambition with family life, and it's hard. It's easy to lose sight of what is important when you're trying to put your focus and energy into other outlets.

That said, my daughter and husband both have supported me 1,000% throughout my job changes and my lifestyle change with the diet and exercise, and that support means more than anything in the world to me.