45 Years & Lots of Love

September 14th was my parent's 45th wedding anniversary. 

Yep, you read that right: 45 years.

That's a whole lot of years.

Even more days.

An innumerable amount of seconds.

And a whole lot of love.

I really am blessed to have these two as my parents as well as my best friends. They're the kindest, most supportive, and loving people I have ever known. They've encouraged me and been there for me through every decision, every up, and every down - basically, every moment of every day of my entire life.

And what's more, they've been there and supportive of each other across the years as well. It's inspiring to have them to look up to as I've grown up. They're a testament to a true partnership - they're there for each other through the thicks and thins and the ups and downs. They know exactly how to push each other's buttons and exactly how to make each other happy. 

I've said it before, but in a world filled with divorces every other weekend, it's a blessing to have two people showing how to keep that commitment  to each other and prove that love really is all you need. 

These two really have made me who I am today. And I could not (and would not) be where or who I am without their love, support, guidance, and example. They're my best friends in the world. And I couldn't be happier or prouder of that fact. 

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!
I love you both with everything I am!
Here's to 45 (or more) more!

Happy Birthday, MOM!

Today is a very important day!

It's my mom's birthday!

My mom is amazing!

She's my travel buddy,

my sounding board,

my [sometimes] Devil's advocate,

and so many other things.

But most importantly,

she's my best friend!

I LOVE YOU MOM!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

43 Years Strong

Today is my parent's 43rd wedding anniversary.

Yes, you read that right.

Forty-Third.

This picture is of them in Prague,

at the beginning of the day,

(the 24 hours we spent in the city, mind you)

after an over-night train ride in the tiniest sleeper-car ever

(are all sleeper cars tiny on trains?

i mean, this one had a bunk-bed, with three bunks)

So, you can tell why dad's not smiling that big

(but really, it's hard to get him to smile for a picture,

as in this picture from Paris is one of the only pictures

I have of him with a real, honest-to-goodness smile:

what's funny about that is that he's one of the funniest,

happy-go-lucky, constantly-making-jokes guys i know.

go figure about the pictures, right?)

Mom on the other hand, always smiling in pictures:

even when it's freezing and i'm making her try deep-fried foods.

Well, she's either smiling,

or making funny faces at the camera:

She's gonna kill me for posting that picture,

but you know what? I love it.

It's so my mom, if you know what I mean.

So, what you need to know:

they've been together forever.

Forever.

As in, they were high-school-sweethearts

(they'll both probably laugh when they read that),

but that's kinda cool.

I mean, really?

In a time when everyone and their brother seems to be divorcing,

here they are showing people that love exists.

Take that divorce rates.

They've lived in really random places together:

Freezing North Dakota,

Middle-of-the-Desert California,

Middle-of-Nowhere New York,

Pony-Land Kentucky,

and now Beautiful New Hampshire.

They've got me,

which makes them super awesome in my eyes.

They're partners.

Marriage is difficult, for sure - you're with someone forever.

In case you forgot,

that's a really, really long time.

You'll get on each other's nerves, for sure,

and you'll learn exactly which buttons to push to royally tick the other off,

and you'll push those buttons both on purpose and without realizing it,

but it's the getting over it and moving on to the next day that matters.

That's how 43 years happen,

and how 43 (or more!) more years will happen.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

I love you more than words!

To Put Into Words

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

It's impossible, really,

to put into words what my mommy means to me.

I tried last year,

that went pretty well

(and still holds true today).

But I'm really at a loss for words

on how to explain just how awesome my mom is.

I mean,

everyone says that their mom is the best in the world,

but really,

my mom is :)

So, I'm gonna just leave it at that:

Mom,

I love you!

You mean the world to me!

Love, Court

----

And just for fun:

all images from we[heart]it

Mini-Update

So, mom finally got here Monday.
We had a great time -
trip to a small Hungarian town outside of BP,
trip to Vienna, Austria,
and some good Budapest sightseeing mixed in.

I'll write all about it
(and the whole host of other things to catch up on)
sometime early next week.
I just didn't want you all to think I had disappeared for good!

Why then and not now, you ask?

Because:
I AM GOING TO CARNIVAL IN VENICE!
I leave tonight at 8pm,
get to Venice at 9am Saturday,
leave Venice at 9pm,
and get back to PB 9am Sunday!

It's gonna be crazy -
and I'm sure you'll read all about it soon!!!!

Karma's Not My Friend Today

Ugh.

Karma seems to be backfiring on me for no reason.

The internet broke in our dorm,

was fixed 22 hours later -

but is still broken in MY ROOM ONLY!

And on top of that,

mom was supposed to get to Budapest this afternoon,

however,

the fuel lines on her plane were frozen

so her flight got cancelled.

She'll be here tomorrow, hopefully,

at the crack of dawn.

But - I miss my mommy!

Sigh.

Time to take deep breaths,

drink a lot of coffee,

get some work done,

and persevere.

All this is making me homesick for New England.

So I will leave you with a poem I found recently:

New England

Whoe'er thou art, who walkest there
Where god first taught my feet to roam,
Breathe but my name into the air,
I am content, for that is home.

A sence of color comes to me,
Of baybushes that heavy lie
With juniper along the sea,
And the blue sea along the sky.

New England is my home; t'is there
I love the pagan sun and moon.
T'is there I love the growing year,
December and young-summer June.

I'd rather love one blade of grass
That grows on one New England hill,
Than drain the whole world in the glass
Of fortune, when the heart is still.

[Philip Henry Savage]

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

She's quite possibly the most wonderful, amazing, and kind-hearted people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I am lucky to have you as my mother! I cannot imagine what my life would be like without you - thank you for going on so many amazing adventures with me. Thank you for offering advice when I asked for it (and even when I didn't think to or want to!) and for being there with a kind word or a hug when I made my own mistakes despite your advice.

I LOVE YOU!!!!

XOXOX

PS. I am so jealous that you get to go see Jeff Dunham (.com) tonight. Bring me back something to laugh at that will make my sides ache. HAVE FUN!

The Love Of A Mother

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me,

but I think she enjoyed it.

[Mark Twain]

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

But an especially happy set of wishes to the best mom out there, mine! (I may be a little biased on this one, but can you really blame me?) Seriously, I love this woman with all my heart!

She is one amazing lady, one whom, without,

I would not be the person I am today.

She's an awesome travel partner! Here we are in Rome, Italy in 2006.

Exactly 3 years ago today, Mom and I shared this day:

My college graduation, and her 21st Mother's Day.

Being a goofball runs in the family, I suppose.

But she always manages to out-do me.

Here we are on our layover in Zurich,

Swiss watches in hand and waiting for the train.

Our most recent adventure landed us in Budapest,

as you're all aware :)

The art of mothering is teaching

the art of living to children.

[Elain Heffner]