Dear finally-not-a-newlywed you,

Isn’t your husband the best?! He went above and beyond for your first anniversary. Researched and researched, asked some trusted professionals and bought you a shiny new camera. A “good” camera that takes “good” pictures. Wow, wait until you talk to your 5-years- married-momma-to-two-boys-and- owned-a-business-for-over-a-year-self. You will now know how to take good pictures with your iphone! You’ll learn that the camera really is nice, but lenses are better. It will make you cringe a little inside when someone says your camera takes nice photos because you know if you handed it to them, they’d likely struggle finding the shutter button(let alone the power one).  You know that camera because you’ve sat in bed and in the car reading the manual; your eyes have burned from scouring blogs, newsletters, forums and good old paperback books.

You’ll meet people who will literally make you cry you’re so happy to be a part of their life. You will also meet those who are with you once then move on. That’s okay you know, for people to move away from you. Don’t take it personally; it’s not you or them really. Some people just aren’t meant to stay in your life.

There will be days that you will cry over the money you’ve invested, not even thinking of the time, and wonder why you have done it. Then, you will meet people who you’ve been able to watch grow from infants to toddlers and it will make you realize why. People will trust you with the secret of pregnancy and you will know why. Girls will trust you to capture their last dance with their daddy as “his girl” and you will know why.  Guys will dance with their momma as she cries because she isn’t the only woman in her baby’s life and you will really REALLY know why.  Moms and dads will trust you to mark that moment in time as a family and you will know why.

Remember those why’s on days when you just want to compare yourself to everyone. Comparison is the thief of joy you know. Celebrate your victories, small or massive, because a victory is a victory.

Success is failure turned inside out –

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are –

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.