Milestones

Jer proposing to me on March 30th 2009 

Milestones. Life is made up of many of them. I remember when I first understood the concept. I was sitting in the back of my family's old blue and white mini van we cruised around in the 90's. My family had spent the day exploring the city of San Francisco with my Grandma and Grandpa who were natives to the area. "So you will be ten next month, Shannon," my Grandma Talyor said to me as she turned to face me in the back of the car. She always was and is so good at coming down to my level and treating me with respect. "You know, that is a milestone in your life." I remember feeling excited, smiling ear to ear in the dark van with the faint glow of the dome light. I remember looking out the window and feeling important, I was almost to a milestone.

Little did I know that soon my life would be bombarded with milestones. I turned ten, then I became a teenager, was sweet sixteen, graduated high school, started college, turned 21, got engaged, graduated college, said "I do," became a mom... It keeps going, each one becoming a little more exciting.  So now I look back at my 25 years of life and see a road of beautiful milestones.

Today I had been thinking about milestones, since March 30th is a day to celebrate a milestone and to make one. On March 30th, 2009, Jeremiah Whitten got down on one knee to propose marriage to me in the chapel my grandparents were married in 65 years prior. I can't believe it has been three years since that beautiful day. Now milestones are a part of everyday life at the Whitten house. Today my son Lee turned 9 months old. His toothy smile and active lifestyle reminds me that my little boy is making the transition from an infant to a toddler.

I love remembering to celebrate and create our milestones. To reflect on what we have accomplished, and to look forward to the next great milestones that will define our lives and shape our experiences.  Each one represents a beautiful aspect of life that makes up who we are and where we are going. We looked back at the path and see all the points and how they align--how the Lord used those places to make us into the person we are now.  In the words of the late Steve Jobs, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards."

Milestones show where you have been,
and help shape who you will be.
Celebrate and remember them.

Lee at 9 months