With Gratitude

I was reminded recently that it was 3 years ago that we began construction on the Miller’s house.  The very first post about them, Meet the Millers, went live on March 25th, 2014.

Who knew a friendly couple chatting with me during the Showcase of Homes would end up building a house that would inspire an entire blog!  Or end up being people Nick and I will call our friends for life.

On a day like today I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the significance of that.  And I want to take a moment to just say-

Thank You

I am blessed everyday to do a job that I love, a job where I get to help people build- not just a home- but a part of their life.  And it is such an honor when those people invite me into that life.  When they invite me on trips and vacations and into their circle of friends…

And in the spirit of all my New Year talk about living with no regrets– I want to share a little story from that trip we took to St Lucia with the Millers back in 2015… and the daunting climb up the side of a mountain that no one anticipated would be so challenging…

Four of us went on that grueling rocky hike, but only two of us conquered the Piton!  I made it to the top that day but only because I had a friend there to encourage me.  If not for her I would have turned around so many times.  And when we reached the final plateau and looked out over this amazing view we worked so hard to get to she turned to me and said-

“It’s beautiful, but I’ve seen better.”

It was a fair statement.  It was beautiful but I too had seen better.  Moments later my ankles and calves screamed in protest as we started back down.  Days later I would curse the broken escalators at the airport that had turned into “steps.”

But if you ask me if I regret the decision to climb that mountain that day I would tell you a thousand times- no.

All that stuff about it being the journey and not the destination and all.

Because truth be told the pain is not the part you remember.  The pain does fade with time.

And even though I might not be left with the memory of the best view I’ve ever seen…

I have the memory of seeing it with one of the best friends I have come to know.

I would never have known this adventure, these amazing people or this friendship if not for my career and a chance encounter with the Millers.

So it is with gratitude that I face the toughest of days, both personally and professionally.  And I am reminded to keep an open mind and an open heart because you never know who you will meet and how they will change your life.

I am grateful for all of my friends out there-

And I want you all to know-

 I would climb a mountain for any one of you- literally!