I have a Hotmail account that I created about 10 years ago. At one time I used this account for my personal email. I stopped using it a few years ago when I switched to Gmail for my work, blog, and personal emails. It was easier to have everything in one place. Since then, my old Hotmail account sits dormant most of the time, but on occasion, I check it. Once in a while, I'll come across an email from an acquaintance who forgot about my new email account or a really great online coupon. Most of the time, I visit my old Hotmail account to go through a few folders where I've stashed old emails. That's exactly what I did earlier tonight.
I took a trip down memory lane.
Some of the stuff in these folders include invoices from airline companies. The first was the trip I booked in October of 2010 to visit my family for the first time in almost 7 years. I stayed at my Mom's house for a week.
The second invoice was the one way plane ticket I booked in May of 2011 for June 27th of 2011. That's the day I moved "back home." Lisa picked me up at the airport. We stood face to face for the first time in over a decade.
There was also an invoice for the luggage I purchased a month before my journey home.
I spent a lot of time reading emails in one of the folders dating back to this time of year in 2011. They're personal emails that Lisa and I exchanged when we lived over 600 miles and almost 10 hours apart.
Nostalgia at its finest.
In several of the emails, we had discussed our future.
The plans were to buy a small fixer-upper house in New Hampshire. Not in the city.
We wanted to start a family. Have a human baby. Maybe two.
Beforehand, we wanted to take a cruise, do a little traveling, and visit California.
We'd raise our human child, or children, to enjoy the same thing we did as kids. Camping. Spending the day at the lakes. Trips up north. Picnic lunches. Bonfires. Hiking trails. Maybe a little 4-wheeling.
Those emails were exchanged 6 years ago.
We had no idea the Universe and Fate had other plans for us.
This is the point where I usually pause, lean back in my office chair, and take a good look at our life now.
No human kids.
We live in Connecticut.
In July, Lisa will celebrate her 15th year with the company she's employed with.
We moved into our home 5 years ago in July. A home that we rent because buying a house, at this point in our life, wasn't something we were interested in.
We have 5 fur-kids.
We're heading into year 4 of Bodacious Biscuit Love.
Instead of spending almost 100 hours a week trying to make a name for myself in the line of work I'm in, or contributing to the success of an arrogant entrepreneur, I create and bake homemade dog treats every week, I whip up cool DIY Dog Mom Projects, I author and manage 2 blog sites, and I'm trying to expand what we do and offer.
I spend almost 100 hours a week "working" towards building our own empire.
I no longer take business trips.
The list goes on.
I know I've said this many times before, and I will probably say it again, I'm happy with the way things turned out. I'm content. I wouldn't trade our life for anything.
Not once has Lisa or I sat around regretting our decisions over the years. We don't have those, "If we didn't have our kids we could..." conversations.
We don't wish for lengthy vacations at an all inclusive resort or more date nights out on the town.
This is it.
We're here.
I don't think I'll ever delete those emails.
They remind me that the forces of the Universe and Fate are far greater than any plans we make.
And, once we're at the place we're supposed to be at, life can be rather great.
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