Day 16: What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

I didn't realize I forgot to post yesterday until Scott said this morning "I was looking for your new blog when I got home last night and nothing was there".  WHOOPS!  Looks like a fun day of playing and snuggling Audrey wore me out!  It was really nice to have a day back with just Audrey and I while Scott worked.  It felt a lot like summer.  I am also in love with the cooler temperatures.  Fall is my favorite season, and it's sneaking around the corner!  Audrey and I went "Back to School" shopping for her, and I found the cutest long sleeve t-shirts.  I can't wait for fall so she can show off her sylin' new duds!

Thinking about my 5 greatest accomplishments will be a fun way to spend this nap time.  As I type this Audrey has woken up, but she's in her room talking to her stuffed animal, which adds to the fun of this post.

1. Audrey.  She and all of my children will be my greatest accomplishment.  She is our legacy.  With her, I get to try and be the best version of myself.  When I was pregnant I could never wrap my mind around the fact that I was growing a human being.  Even now, when I look at her and I remember feeling her kick and squirm in my stomach, it seems like some sort of alternate reality.  I'm so proud of her already.  Her sweet disposition, her ability to talk, the way she mimics and learns new things.  My love for her truly knows no bounds, and pushes me every day to be the best mom, wife, teacher, daughter and friend I can be. 

2. Getting my Masters.  I worked really hard on my Masters degree and graduated with a 4.0.  I attended actual classes and wrote many research papers and really tried hard to learn and be present in my classes.  In high school and undergrad I was all about a balance between making decent grades and having fun with my friends.  I really wanted to work hard on my Masters and earn an advanced degree.  Even though I didn't walk at an actual graduation (I inherited a distaste for graduation speeches from my mom.  We bond over it every graduation season) I was very proud to have graduated with honors and to have finished my degree.

3. My relationship with Scotty.  At first I was trying to write about my marriage, but being and staying married is not something I would call an accomplishment.  I don't feel a sense of pride from staying married.  It's not a goal I set or anything so I couldn't make that paragraph sound right.  Then I realized, it's not my marriage I'm proud of, but it's the relationship I have with my husband I'm proud of.  I'm proud of the way we respect each other, support each other and love each other.  We've made it through many transitions and through each hardship have been each others best friends and partners.  It's not our marriage that makes us that way, it's our relationship.  I'm very thankful to have someone that I love so much and who I know loves me just as much back (even AFTER I type a blog about how much he annoys me!)

4. Running a Half Marathon.  Talk about goal setting.  We started training in May, where our long run was 3 miles and ended up running a Half Marathon 13 weeks later.  I went for a 4 mile run on Wednesday and when it was over it was unbelievable that just 4 days earlier I had run 9 more miles.  I'm really proud of our training and had a great time running the race.  It will definitely not by my last to run.  My next goal is to run one with Scott.  We just have to find a way to convince our 1 year old that riding in the stroller for a couple of hours is fun...

5. My teaching jobs.  I'm proud of my teaching jobs for different reasons.  My two teaching jobs have had very different challenges.  I'm proud that I can rise to different challenges and continue to grow as an educator.  I was worried, after having such a great summer, that I would feel differently about teaching this year.  It's actually the opposite.  I'm in love with my job.  I work with amazing people and in the 4 days that I've had students have already had a great time getting to know them.  It's going to be a great year.  Although I miss the special time with Audrey that we had over the summer, having this weekend has reminded me that those moments are not gone.  We still have weekends and evenings to play and talk.  I was worried once I went back to work I would understand less of what she says because I wouldn't have the context to apply it to, but so far she and I are still in sync, which makes a mom feel good.  It's nice to have a fun job and sweet students to return to on Mondays at a great school in a great community.  It's not an individual effort, it's a team effort, and I'm really proud to be a part of such a great team.