Feeling my age

June is usually a month of celebrating milestones for me, but this June brings more weight than usual. The festivities began on the 9th when Karie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (certainly nothing to feel aged over, I know). Although this year we ended up celebrating on the 8th, which is my sister Jessica's wedding anniversary, and we later found out that she and her husband John celebrated their fifth anniversary (congratulations to them) on the 9th.

Usually the other day of milestone in June comes on the 20th when I celebrate my birthday. However this year the 18th also brought me to reminisce, as it marked the 10th year since I walked through the doors of the MTC. I don't know how signifigant this would be to most people, but it has caused me to look back on what I have done with myself in that span. On the positive side I finished that mission to Los Angeles honorably, got sealed to my favorit person in the whole world, earned a Bacholer's degree, had two children (who tie for second on that favorite persons list), and am 2/3rds of the way through a Master's degree. I think the only thing that I am dissapointed over is that during all that time I have struggled so much with deciding what to do for a career, that we are still living the poor student life. It is, in the grander scheme of things, a small dissapointment though, since I am now heading in a firm direction, with a plan to boot. I do like to take jabs at myself by pointing out that I will be graduating only two months before my 30th birthday, but I guess I can't be too picky.

I am also led to think about my brother Sean as he is in the MTC right now, and will be heading out to Seattle in July. Writing him letters and reading his letters has brought back a flood of mission memories. Many of which involve my good friend Vladimir Paje, whom I was blessed to come to know during that MTC and mission experience, and have fostered a great friendship with ever since. He has been more than helpful in reminding me of this anniversery, which becomes all the more meaningful as it is also the anniversary of our friendship. I also hope to be able to relive some of these memories with my mission president, Milo Lebaron, soon; as he lives nearby in Mesa, and his wife recently got in contact with us to suggest that we get together sometime. The strangest part of that being that we have become relatives of a sort thanks to my marraige, Sister Lebaron is the aunt of Karie's step-mother.

Finally, I stare down tomorrow, my 29th birthday. I am entering the last year of my twenties. I know that there are many of you rolling your eyes at me right now, but this also brings me to think more about my life goals, what I have obtained, what I am currently working on, what has been forgotten, and what might need to be added. Thankfully I can only find myself feeling generally satisfied with what life has brought me and optomistic about the future. I'm sure that this might suprise Karie, as she spends alot of time listening to me gripe, but it is true. That is most in thanks to so many of you who have been good friends and loving family. Besides I can't afford to waste time feeling down on life, I've got to devote that time to reminding Karie she only has seven months left in her twenties, at least I've got a full twelve!