On Sunday, I found myself driving in the Gold Coast, past my old condo building and down tree-lined Dearborn Street. I had my windows rolled down and favorite songs blasting on CarPlay. For just a moment, I was 23 years old again… newly dating this cute guy from Georgia, growing my real estate business, going out and about in the city with friends.
I parked outside our building and opened the front door to hear the beautiful sounds of Holly’s laughter with Annie’s little murmurs, and I was back to being 29-year-old me. A wife and a mother of two. Wow.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss that version of me on occasion. I do! Especially on the hard days, when my two-year-old is wailing and my two-month-old is refusing sleep. But God has richly blessed me with the greatest thing: a family of my own. I can’t imagine my life without Andrew, Holly, and now, Annie.
Courtney took these photos of us last week, and I’ve clicked through them dozens of times already. They are sweet souvenirs from this season as a new family of four. I wish I could show them to 23-year-old Melanie! I’d have to warn her about the all-nighters, blowouts, and tantrums… and that there will be tearful moments when she feels totally and completely overwhelmed as a mom. But I’d tell her she’ll never want to go back in time. That being a wife and a mother is a gift and an honor. And most of all, that having her own family to come home to is a glimpse of Heaven.
Thank you to my BFF, Courtney, for these photos. She is an artist, truly!
