Here’s to Today

June 1. June 1 is a day of new birth, adventure, dawning, and recreation. But then again, every day is, isn’t it?

Today June 1 holds a special, reflective place in my heart and mind. Nine years ago today, on June 1, 2015, I drove my 2009 Toyota Prius to the metro area to begin my new life in Saint Louis. Newly divorced, I left my boys’ childhood hometown to build a new home and a new life for us. Arriving first, I established a home for the three of us and then had them join me on this new adventure, dawning, recreation of our stories.

In these nine years we learned how to do city life. Together we walked hundreds of miles along pathways in Forest Park, to movie theaters, museums, restaurants, and coffee bars. These walks were marketed with the lure of dinner or popcorn, but the real motivation was much deeper— conversation, connection, and relationship we nurtured each step of the way.

In the last nine years, the boys and I have had two high school graduations, two college degrees, multiple trips across the ocean, several heartbreaks, at least four batches of Break Up Cookies, a few engagements, two weddings, lots of pizzas, four more wonderful kiddos in my life, a bounty of family we love to have share our tables, a puppy, and several days in both the sunshine and the rain.

Today, June 1 marks nine years of starting our new lives here in Saint Louis. Today, June 1 also marks, it seems, the beginning of a new chapter. Within days, our family will grow once again. One son will become “Dad,” two sons and a daughter will become uncles and aunts, a daughter-in-love will take on the new title of “Momma,” and I will soon allow myself to be wrapped around a tiny little perfect finger to the one who will call me a yet-to-be-determined-pet-Grandma-name.

So today, dear friends, with you I celebrate June 1. I celebrate the love that’s enveloped us, the arms that have embraced us, and the joy that’s filled us. Amid the bumps, bruises, joys, successes, stumbles, and victories that have carried us through this chapter, we’ve found ourselves, love, and the introduction to the next new beautiful chapter of our stories. Here’s to today.