When it comes to the dreamers, the darers, the look fear in the face starers, there is one universal truth that they all have ingrained in them, possibly since birth, and we would all benefit to learn from: the world belongs to those who ask.
Or rather, as I'm slowly starting to learn...to the ones who ask Why Not?
See when it comes to how life is and how we wish life would be, we are all experts in lining up all the things that could go wrong between us where we are and where it is we wish we could be. Until a great wide treacherous divide separates the two. And the only responsible, safe, grown up thing to do is not leap.
We spend so much time thinking about what could go wrong, that we never once stop to think about what would happen if it all went so very, very right. Better than we could have ever imagined. With the exact right pieces falling into the exact right place at the exact right time. Like some life-sized game of Tetris. With better theme music. We never once think about any of this when we're hanging all of our solid, responsible reasons out to dry. We never once think, Man, what if we're wrong?
What if this next leap could be the single greatest thing that ever happened to us. And one of the greatest adventures of our lives.
What if for one brief second, we stopped sitting on the sidelines of our own lives, watching the victories play out for someone else's dream? What if we stepped out of the shadows and remembered what it's like to have the light on our face?
Because if there is one thing that I'm learning, it's that this life is far too precious and short not to once truly feel what it's like to shine. {You were born for far greater things than this, my friend, I promise you.} It is far too brief and ungiven to limp tentatively and quietly embarrassed in the direction of our dreams.. See, me & you....we have to remember what it is to run.
To suck cold, salty, ocean air into our already burning lungs and feel our hearts pounding in our aching chests. And to know that we've never once felt so free. Because for just this once, we're actually moving. We're going somewhere. And our legs, suddenly so light without the weight of a thousand reasons why we "can't" tangling up in our shoe strings, are now more than ready to take us there.
Today, if you're not running like that toward where you want to be. If you're not thinking about all the things that could go SO right if you just tried.
Then do me a favor & take a lesson from the Dreamers. The Darers. The Look Fear in the Face Starers.
And ask yourself....Why Not?
It could change everything.
Rock it out friends,
xo
M:)
**Here is recap of our recent trip to Nantucket with some of our closest friends in the world. A trip that started with "Why Not." And saved me from a lifetime of "What if we had." I am so grateful for every one of these people who challenge me to think differently each & every day. And especially thankful to Jeremy, who was there to capture it all. Here's to one of the greatest adventures of our lives...And many more to come!
Today is our last day on Nantucket & we are about to hop the ferry home. When we woke up this morning, the rain was coming down after having incredible weather all week.
But like I said to my favorite little preppy island: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened!"
Happy Friday y'all!
M:)
And now we have to have our LAST birthday giveaway! Just leave us a comment below saying hi & we're going to pick one lucky winner to receive a $50 gift card to Adorama! We'll announce both the Yankee & Adorama winners early next week! And....GO!!
We sat around a long table and sipped on the last of our pink drinks, as the lemonade gave way to the ice cubes. We took turns casting our hopes and dreams for the years ahead like a line into the velvet grey water, a true north amidst the ever-changing tumult. We sat buoyed up together in that wooden raft for the longest while as time seemed to slow down, and when the question found its way to me...my answer was simple.
We came out to Nantucket this week with six of our closest friends for a sort of birthday adventure. An adventure that began a few weeks back with the words, Why Not? as almost all of the best adventures do. Well today is my actual birthday, and as I look out at the year ahead this is what I wish for my life:
*I want to spend more time thinking about what could go right than what could go wrong.
*I want to get started on all of those things I've been meaning to do. There's a reason I've been meaning to do them.
*I want to lean in to who I was called to be, no matter how scary it is.
*I want to choose purpose over popularity, and substance over celebrity.
*I want to give thanks every day for the beautiful place that I woke up one day to find my life in: incredible friends who are family, a family that are also friends, a wonderful home, a husband who is my best friend and always looks out in the same direction with me, and the world's fluffiest dog.
*I want to ask "Why Not" and ask it often. I want to live life as if every dream is a possibility, and the craziest of adventures are already a memory. I want to be open to every good thing that could happen. And see every good thing that already has as nothing short of a miracle. Those miracles make up my life.
*I want to laugh until my stomach hurts from laughing. And see every laugh line as proof that we must be doing something right.
*I want to ask myself what the 80 year old me would think of what I'm doing and follow her every word of advice. After all, she's a lot wiser than I am.
Here's to the next year friends! And every great adventure it brings with it. I'm so thankful to each and every one of you for being along for the ride.
So much love,
M:)
So there was that one time when we drove up to Rochester to see the Lilac Festival.
And being the good tourists that we are, we of course wanted to get our picture taken in front of a lilac bush right?? That's what you do! So we asked one of our fellow tourists, a kindly looking little old lady with a gray bun on top of her head if she would mind snapping a picture of us. Justin had already picked the spot for her to stand and dialed in all the settings when he handed the Olympus over to her, so she was all good to go. But then....she went to WERK!!
She backed up twenty feet so she "could get the light good." At one point she was standing behind a bush and shouting out for us to get closer to each other. She turned the camera every which way, including once, I'm pretty sure, upside down. She would point the camera at us for entire minutes at a time before snapping a shot, while we stood there with frozen smiles, poking each other & trying our best not to laugh. And then...it got REAL y'all!
Because that was the moment when she asked us to stand IN a lilac bush.
It started off innocently enough, with her directing us to stand on either side of this one little itty bitty bush in the midst of all the huge ones. So we did. And we smiled. Then she said "no, no, no...BACK UP!! Really get INTO the bush! This is going to be so COOL!" So we took a baby step back and a baby step in, still smiling the whole time. "NO! Closer! Really get in there!" At which point this itty bitty little old lady came over and MAN-HANDLED me into a plant. Let me tell you, she may have looked small, but she was strong. Then she backed up to her original spot and said, "Now look at each other! Hold hands in the middle! This is going to be great!" But we just kept smiling until she finally, finally, took the picture.
Then she came over and said, "Now let me show you what I did!" We ooohed and ahhhed the appropriate amount and thanked her profusely for her time as we sent her on her way. But just before she walked away she said, "In case you couldn't tell, I consider myself a bit of a photographer."
So Justin just smiled his Justin-y smile and said, "Yes ma'am, I could totally see that."
Happy Friday friends!
xo
M:)
***And I think it's high time for another birthday giveaway don't you! This week, we'll do a $25 gift card to Yankee Candle so you can get your choice of one their lilac scented ones or something else! Just leave a comment in the box below & we'll announce the winner next week! And....GO!!
Here's a little picture of what life for us looks like right now...
*Last night we sat out on our front porch with a good friend for the first time this year. Spring has finally settled in to stay here in New England, and we've had a week of nearly all warm, sunny days. Last night, the weather could not have been more perfect. We had the warm setting sun with a soft, salty breeze. And everyone was out walking, biking, running just taking it all in. We sat together and shared our now signature cheese board (Robusto cheese, honey covered almonds, dried cranberries, and three types of jam....it's pretty much the closest I ever get to cooking!) and a bottle of one of my favorite red wines: Mirassou. I really love that time of day where we live because the water goes all baby blue, and the sky is splashed in shades of pink, orange and purple. It looks like they're going to be putting the sailboats in this weekend, and I'm already imagining a summer full of days on the front porch & good bottles of wine just like last night.
*If you've been following along on our Facebook page or Twitter, you know that we've started going to a chiropractor. Being a wedding photographer is HARD on the body, and my favorite quote from our first visit was: "You guys are WAY too young to have this much wear & tear!" Awesome. But we sort of knew it was true because we've basically been in pain for-ohhh- five years or so. Headaches, shoulder pain, lower back. And it was getting worse. Three visits in to the chiropractor and I've already seen dramatic improvement to all three. Of course, it requires having moves done on us that I was pretty sure killed people....at least that's what every spy movie I've ever seen tells me. But so far, so good! Still alive! My favorite part of this whole process has been finding out that one of my legs-the right one- is shorter than the other. And here all this time, I thought I just had swagger.
*A couple months ago we took Cooper to the vet for his annual check up and he weighed in at a whopping 90lbs. He is just a pretty BIG dog, so this isn't too over for him, but the vet did want him to lose 5-10 lbs. So we've had him on a strict diet since then. Yesterday we went in for a follow up and the scale hadn't budged at all. Which leads me to believe that he is sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night for pints of Ben & Jerry's. It's the only thing that makes sense!
*Justin is really in to doing yard work. Like REALLY into it. The other day, as he was weed wacking, he stopped for a second, looked up and said, "You know, I must smile the whole time I'm doing yard work. Because every time it's over, my teeth are always dirty." LOL, boys!
* This week was amazing because it officially ushered in May, which is of course my BIRTHDAY MONTH! Justin always likes to tell me, "you get a day, not a month." But I think he secretly likes it too. Because he's helping me put together a pretty crazy scheme for my BIRTHDAY WEEK. Let's just say it involves my version of preppy heaven. Speaking of which, we've started a series on our Instagrams called #jmnewenglandlife that involves all things preppy & new englandy from our day to day life. "Right down to our toes & a pair of topsiders!" If you aren't following along yet, get on it. "And we'll send a thank you note....in cursive!"
Happy Friday y'all!
M:)
**And speaking of preppy awesomeness, how amazing are these socks? Can't wait to share Shannon & Luke's NYC engagement shoot on Monday!
Life with J&M
