Can I always remember ?

Can I always remember how it felt to just let go and jump? As I was leaning over the edge of the plane looking down on land thousands of feet away, I remember thinking to myself, "well, if your parachute doesn't open, you'll be a pancake before you know it and won't feel a thing." And then I let go. 

  

The initial sense of fear, followed by accomplishment I felt when I bought my own house, started supporting myself and was officially classified as an adult.

The nights we used to stand in the kitchen, sipping wine, listening to music, talking and playing with our puppies... for hours.

The bond little Zoey and I developed when we were room mates (more to come on her later). 

  

Summer 2010. This was the last summer I lived at home and, since Derek was away at boot camp, Curtis and I spent lots of time together. 

  

How important girl time is.

Here are four of the most important ladies in my life celebrating my 18th birthday almost a decade ago! (And yes, we've seen each other since and have more recent pictures)

  

And on that note... summer days, summer nights, all the fun we had in high school together and how lucky I was to have this lovely lady by my side every step of the way.

   

The excitement I feel each time we wake up before the sunrise, head to the airport and take off on our next adventure.

That day at Starbucks when Ben first told me he was falling in love with me.

The overwhelming (literally tear jerking) pride and love I have for these two men. While their friends were celebrating high school graduation, they were training to be Marines. 

 

 The sense of relief when Derek's unit returned home from Afghanistan... something you have to experience to truly understand.

  

That time at Lake Morey when there was absolutely nothing to do at night... so we bought pizza and a bottle of wine, sat by the lake and played pandora on our phone... and then realized there wasn't an option in the world better than what we were already doing at that moment. 

My first business attempt when I was 22ish. I love baking and decided to open a home-based cupcake business. This picture is from a craft fair I attended where I surprising sold more cupcakes than I imagined... but then PA school decided to go ahead and take up all my time... cupcakes were no longer even close to the top of my priority list.  

 

This cute face when I see endless amounts of fur in my house.