Celebrate we will...cause life is short but sweet for certain

It is amazing how many lives a single life can touch. It’s one of those things that you really never pause to think about until it’s time to say goodbye to someone who has made that sort of an impact on your own life.

Why is that the case, I wonder? If you think about…how often do you really slow down enough to realize how much someone means to you…let alone take the time to share it with them?

Must be human nature—we don’t want to think about a time when that someone won’t be around…but once they are gone, you’re left with the realization of how much they meant to you and the size of hole they filled in your life.

I was reminded of these realizations just a few short weeks ago when Jacob’s uncle passed away.

In honor of Kerry Van Humphrey. May he rest in peace.

Uncle Kerry (or “E” as Jacob and his siblings and cousins referred to him) touched many lives over the course of his life. Kerry was so much more than an uncle/brother/son to those who knew him—he was a friend. Jacob has referred to him as a best friend—someone he could always count on for a kind word or a smile.

Though I only knew him for a few short years (we first met six years ago when Jacob and I started dating), I have my own fond memories of Kerry. Beyond the holidays and Sunday family dinners, I think the memories at the top of my list were those summer nights that he and I would drive downtown to the Kentucky Theatre to watch the films of the Summer Classic Series.

These memories represent but a mere moment in Kerry’s life but they will always have special meaning to me. On top of everything, I know how much he meant to Jacob. And my heart breaks for him and the rest of the Kelly/Humphrey family members. Despite this loss, we can rest in the peace and knowledge that he is in a better place…and we will see him again one of these days.

Now that I think about it…maybe if we constantly thought about mortality we wouldn’t truly live. I’m not sure, but regardless, I want to make a more conscious effort to tell people how I feel about them; never leave someone angry; and take time to truly enjoy the moments/events of my life. And maybe Dave Matthews summed it up best when he said that “life is short, but sweet for certain.”

25

I have entered the final days of my life as a 25-year-old.

One week from today I will be entering the uncharted territory of 26. Luckily, having an April Birthday, a good number of my friends have hit the 26-mark ahead of me. They have said, as with most other birthdays, you do not feel any differently. I can only recall one or two specific birthdays that made me feel older. {Perhaps when I turned thirteen (officially a teenager!) and the infamous 21 (which I spent with my now-husband at Comedy off Broadway drinking my first drink...for serious...a margarita).}

A throwback to the eighties. My first Birthday: April 6, 1986.

In my life, getting older has been marked by moments or situations, not necessarily by specific years. For instance, I truly felt like I had hit adulthood when our new bedroom furniture arrived. Not necessarily when I started my "first real job" the summer after I graduated from college or even when I got married last fall. Sure, they both contributed immensely, but that bedroom furniture hit the nail on the head for me.

In many ways, I still feel like a teenager. I remember what it feels like to be madly in love with a Backstreet Boy (I guess it was not meant to be, Nick Carter) and how it felt to first sit behind the wheel of a car (ah, the days of the forest green Taurus...). To go even further back, I can remember what it feels like to be a kid. The hours I spent playing Barbies with my sisters and best friend Trisha and just the complete sense of freedom that comes with having zero responsibility.

Through most every stage of my life, I have often wished time away. Along the way, I would think, "if only I was 10. Or 16. Or 18. Or out of high school. Or out of college. Or married." And time, moving as quick as it does, would fly by me before I could even recognize (or appreciate) what I had. It is never until after those times are over that you realize what you had.

If I could go back, I would tell younger Kristin to relish each moment, each phase and each chapter. You only have one life. Don't wish it all away! I think that is something most people realize once they hit a certain age. I'm just glad it hit me now...while I am still in my mid-20s and not when I am nearing retirement age. A very merry Birthday realization to me!

One-80

On Thanksgiving Day, Jacob and I were in a terrible accident on I-75--a major highway that runs through our state. Thankfully, we were both able to walk away from the scene without more than a few bumps and bruises... But ever since that moment nearly a week ago, my mind has been racing.

I keep running through different what-if scenarios...and am terrified to get behind the wheels of a car (not considering the highway for a while if I can help it)...and I am terrified when Jacob has to drive some place. I've been told that these fears will eventually subside and life will calm down. But who knows how long that will take?

Luckily, the things racing through my mind are not all scary or fear-driven...I have been blessed with a new outlook on life. There are so many things that people take forgranted...and so many things that in the grand scheme of things, just don't matter. Life is short. And fragile. Sure, you think you understand these things, but when I am completely honest with myself, I realize that I didn't. Not until last week anyway. 

Above all, the knowledge that we were saved from that accident for a reason has truly stuck with me. Not sure what God has in store for us at this point, but knowing that we have a second chance is comforting.

That said, I think I am officially changing the direction of my blog...a 180 so to speak. It was initially created to capture the planning process of our September 2010 wedding, but now, I think it is more important to capture life. Because, as I said in my first blog post over a year ago, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

That makes more sense now than it ever has before.