I've written a lot about enjoying the victories and celebrating family milestones here. And it's because I went to therapy and learned how to separate the rotten from the ripe, instead of living in a black and white mind where you're good or you're bad, you've arrived or you're failing. It's so important to learn to celebrate and to sit back in awe of how far you've come. Do you have something to celebrate? This is about process not perfection. Take the time to cheer for yourself and your family, even if those on the outside looking in think it's silly or insignificant.
I have something to celebrate. Our family of 4 drove to San Diego and back for Christmas AND IT WENT GREAT! That alone is super weird. And of course, I was insanely prepared so I have to think that was part of it, but I think we're also just the kind of family who can totally road trip and not hate life or each other. That's an awesome thing to discover and celebrate. And driving in our sweet new ride definitely made for a comfortable trip! I kind of just want to road trip with my family all the time now.
On top of having a great drive, even with the flu on the way home (awesome), our family took a day to spend at Disneyland. For those of you who don't know, Tim and I were set up on our first date and we spent that day at Disneyland. In December. 15 years ago. Neither of us had been back at Christmas since then. And we got to go with both of our kids and share in wonderful memories and make new ones as a family. Tim has also never been to Disney with the kids. When his post-partum stuff was really bad, I wanted to take Macy to Disney while she was still young and he was in no shape to take that kind of trip. So I took the kids with my parents and we had a great day.
So the fact that we got to go all four of us, even with a flu-ridden Penny, and we had a GREAT time was a really big deal. We had so much stinking fun. During the post-partum season, we went through a phase where we had to do a lot of things separately. Then we went through a phase where we did things together and it was challenging and stressful. Now we're reaping the harvest of all those years of self-care, healthy boundaries and patience and we are enjoying having real fun together as a family of four.
I am so proud. I am so thankful. And it's just awesome.
Everything isn't perfect or even great right now in some areas of my life. And I will write about that stuff too. But today I'll look at these pictures and smile.