Greetings from our snowy camp out! Another snow day today and it was lovely. Nothing too unique and I did not even get close to my full snow day to do list - but I was grateful for a chance to turn off the alarm and roll over. I was energized by an opportunity to clean up my to do list and plan for the move (aka shop for new house goodies online!!!). There is just something so fun knowing you skipped out on a day of “must dos” for a day of no plans. If you found yourself admit the storm, I hope you are cozy and had a little extra fun on a day indoors.
Well February’s theme was skipped as these past weeks were dedicated to our move - as you know there are many a weekend wrap-up focused on our house search. I talked about the excitement and frustrations, the notes and spreadsheets, the hopes and musts…….and finally we found our perfect place! By the time the paperwork was done and the loose ends tied up it it was the last few days of February - and although it felt like a “done”, it was really just the start! Now we have to do the move!!!!
Needless to say February was FULL of distractions - all pretty good but full. And although I had grand ideas of really kick starting my theme month the right way this go around- that plan is being now for March. The good news - the February theme of love and us as a couple is very similar to another month I have planned later in 2015 so I will be combining a few themes as we go - hey sometimes you gotta just adjust. So instead of really delving into what I had hoped to see this month and some of the ways I did feel it was accomplished I want to focus on the overall highlights of February.
1. Our New Place: For the last 15 months Danny and I have been blessed to be able to move back home with my parents. December 2013 I was working from home and we were considering making a move to NC or a larger place further out since a city commute was no longer part of our life. Well 15 months later things look a lot different, we know where we want to be, and now we found our perfect place. Danny spent a lot of time searching. In fact we found three homes we thought were “good enough” - I was ready to sign an application weeks ago! But Danny controlled his emotions - and ignored mine, gave into the process and practiced his best self control….only to find us the perfect new home. We move in 9 days and can’t wait. And even though it was a long process of searching, it was fun and gave us a lot of laughs. And now we know we have given the time to truly appreciate this next phase. PS - those of you who are homeowners….I have NO **IDEAD**HOW - we spent this much time on our rental…..
2. 10 Valentine’s Day: February 14 we celebrated our 10th Valentine’s day together. Although the romance was distracted by our application signing that day - reflecting on this being our 10th romantic holiday together was pretty funny. We have come a long, long way and it is interesting to remember our first Valentine’s Day that I was falling hard for this adorable romantic and his dimples - while wondering if I was lucky enough to have this romance last - to now we are planning our new home together, as married folks for almost 5 years!!! Crazy how life just passes you by- even when you are looking!
This holiday we also had a really good couple moment of honesty . It is awesome and really important that we were excited about our move - but we are pretty dang blessed to be so in love and we need to celebrate it….distractions are always going to be there - but are we still stopping to tell the other one “I love you”? This ended up being a true Valentine’s to remember as we hope to be a little bit more festive in the future….and took a big step forward on the Bessette road of life.
3. Hockey Winning: Well we can’t let this month pass by without our O’Connell Knight Pride!! The boys made it one more step forward from last season and Jackie’s hockey cred has increased just a little bit more with another passing year! Another season of coaching for Danny has ended and it has been really inspiring to watch him figure out new and better ways to connect with his players. I love how we continue to be apart of a school that has given us so much, only to give the kiddos there now a good experience too! Plus to have an extra connection to my baby sister’s life there has meant a lot more than I would have ever thought. Bridget and I were never close enough in age to be in school together (14 years….hello Catholic family!! :) ), but this has given Danny and I a chance to play a more active roll in her school life.
Danny’s coaching brings him true happiness and I feel like I am given a gift every time I can watch him live out his passion. Almost life an outsider peering into the workings of his brain - and when you love someone, any chance to really understand the inside of their head is a gift. But something unique also happened this hockey season. There have been a few other family things that have come up - holidays, parties, events - that I have had to miss to be with Danny at his hockey events. At first glance this seems a little sad or just “life” - it is busy. But for us it has also been an important distinction that we have a lot of our family and friends that mean the world to us….but when push comes to shove, we are each other’s “person”. We are each others’ biggest fan, strongest supporter, and will ALWAYS choose our spouse first. That can be a hard lesson in marriage and I am proud that hockey has not only taught us a little about the game…but also a little about life, our life in fact! I look forward to the many years of hockey in store for the Bessettes (and all of its lessons)!
5. My Running Makes An Appearance: When I had initially started my list of February highlights my running being a source of joy was on it, but since then we have left the ease of my parents’ at home treadmill and moved to a neighborhood with my favorite trails…..and 6inches of snow. Seesh!! Even still a highlight for this month was my running shoes making a regular appearance and I was feeling energetic and motived. So I am going to hang on to those runs and pray for some more sun to melt the snow!!
6. January Goals Coming True: It has been very rewarding to see my January theme of “the best me” still a present part of my focus and decision making. I have embraced schedules, my organization tools, and being much better about being present with my family and friends. Not perfect mind you - just purposeful. My hope when I thought about themes for this year was that each month would build on what the previous months had introduced, not replace it. Well only a few weeks in but my January goals are sticking and I am feeling pretty proud!
7. Danny’s SUPERDANCE Speech : Danny’s speech this year was truly incredible. The words of gratitude, love of family, importance of our community, and the funny plans God has instore for you (he recommended everyone be nice to those your in high school with - you never know who you may marry) are etched in my memory and on my heart. It is not easy being the “CF Person” all the time, especially when he would much rather just be the coach at school, so I was in awe of his humility and desire to share a good message with the kids, no matter how hard.
February was a good month - actually it was a GREAT month! And although it was not along my theme - there was some great purposeful living around here. We felt like we really took advantage of our many experiences and lived them…… 2015 really is getting good…..so on we roll!
