The Big 5

Yesterday marked the fifth year of our marriage and, being the milestone that it is, we decided to do something special. We went to Mooyah Burger! :) Haha... actually, Grady hasn't been feeling too well for the past few days (we turned the corner from spit-up to throw-up) so we have rescheduled our anniversary celebration. All that being said, it was a great day in the life of the McGowans. We even had a conversation yesterday about what a day in our lives looks like and how it is similar or different than we thought it would be.

It's interesting to think about the statements you make when you first get married:

Well, we want to wait five years until we have kids or Yeah, we want to do some traveling before we do or We want to buy a house right away or We don't want to buy a house right away or We are going to work out together every morning and study the Word together every night. Oh, and we will never own a minivan (not said by the McGowans).... and the list goes on.

The point is that on the starting line of five years everything seems so far off. Early on in our marriage, we did this chart called "our 5 year plan" and on it we listed all the things we wanted to accomplish/do in the next five years. It was so crazy to even write "2009" or "2010". It felt so futuristic as visions of flying cars and lunar colonies flashed through our heads... well, my head anyway.

We've ended up hitting a lot of the goals thus far. In some categories, such as baby-making, we have been early over-acheivers! In others, like vacations and travel plans, we are a little behind. But, in the end, now that we are at the finish line of this many years, it has more than flown by. I am so in love with my wife and our little family and I am hoping beyond hope that the next five years will slow down so I can stop and hold them and hug them and soak in this love in every moment. But you and I both know that it's not going to slow down. It's going to go even faster.

So standing at the starting line of another five years and having a little perspective now, what do we do? I say this. Life is going to go faster without a doubt, which means that I need to take advantage of every moment and with everything I have love my beautiful ones with all I have. There is no time to get stuck in my pride or to spin my wheels searching for God knows what. I could spend the rest of my quickly passing life pursuing things that do not matter, all the while missing the greatest gifts that I could ever be given; the love of my wife and boys and precious time with them.

Time is free, but it's priceless.

You can't own it, but you can use it.

You can't keep it, but you can spend it.

Once you've lost it you can never get it back.

~Harvey McKay

Here's to as many years as God gives me with this beautiful woman.

Jennifer, I love you!

~A