Birthday Celebration

I had the great pleasure of having my day of birth celebrated last week.

Because of preparations necessary for a work retreat, I found myself in the office for 70% of the day.  Thankfully, I was greeted by a few nice surprises...

My office door decorated with a boa and Happy Birthday signs 

A tiara, balloon and vanilla cupcakes on my desk!

After work, I had a few errands to run before getting a massage!  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that hour of my day and came home in a peaceful state to a wonderfully prepared dinner.  Colin made his specialty - grilled portabello mushroom sandwiches - and baked a strawberry-rhubarb pie as an added treat. My friend Laural and her boyfriend Nate also gave me a chocolate fudge cake (I do love chocolate cake!!).  Since the weather was fantastic, Colin and I turned on the patio lights and enjoyed our dinner on the back deck.  It was a beautiful way to end the day.

The flowers I received from Colin and my brother were beautiful -

and added beautiful colors and scents to the house for days.

Strawberry-rhubarb pie baked by Chef Colin (left)

Chocolate fudge cake gifted by Laural and Nate (right)

It is a nice feeling to have things done for you on a special day, but I feel it's much more important to be able to celebrate our own lives as often as possible.  I am happy with the person I am, the choices I've made for myself, and the people who share my life with me.  I don't think it is necessary to have a day where people celebrate me because I should be celebrating my own life.  Some days I am better at it than others, and having friends and family share in regular celebrations is nice for us social people.  But with each passing year I find myself celebrating my life internally and in a calm way, reflecting on the person I am, and setting goals to continue to become better.  


In the upcoming year, the 31st of my life, I want to continue to support organizations that provide programs or services I believe in (such as the environment, education, and basic individual needs) not just financially, but through volunteerism.  In addition to giving to others, I want to take more time to reflect on taking care of my needs so that I can be better to others.


If you'd like to share, I'd like to hear your thoughts about celebrating your life.

Celebrating 5 years

Our Wedding Day - July 22, 2006 in Burlington, VT

Five years ago today I married my best friend.  Now that we have been together 10 years, we have finally spent more time together than apart during our relationship.

For those of you that don't know our story, it started at the University of Vermont in Burlington in the spring of 2001.  We were inseparable for most of that semester of college, and then Colin graduated in May.  Our first few months apart saw me in the Dominican Republic on a study abroad trip, while he was in Albany.  But even before we parted for the first time we knew we loved each other and would do whatever was necessary to make our relationship work.

Our first full year apart was only a 2.5 hour driving distance from Burlington to Albany.  When Colin went to law school in NYC, the distance increased to a 6 hour drive from Burlington. And the following year when I went to grad school in Knoxville, we doubled our distance to a 12 hour drive.  I won't say distance is easy, but it works given the correct situation.  We each had our separate lives that we enjoyed, and those lives were enhanced when we were together.  It never felt like we were starting over because we were regular, important parts of each others lives - even from physical distance.

In 2005, after 4 years of being apart, we spent our year-long engagement relishing in time together as we prepared for our "life together."  There were new challenges as we now had a second person to think about when making day to day plans and decisions.  But these challenges were overcome through communication, patience, and love.

Our committment day arrived on July 22, 2006, where friends and family joined us in Burlington, Vermont to celebrate where it all began and see us formally join ourselves to each other.  While a wedding certainly is a commemorative event, we had joined ourselves to each other long before that day.  On that day, we shared our love for and committment to each other with everyone else.

The past 5 years have brought many joys and challenges.  I have learned so much about how ask for and offer help, what is worth fighting about and what is not important.  As we continue to grow and change, we find new challenges and opportunities in our lives.  The most important thing to both of us is sharing in these things together.

In true "Millers on the Road" fashion, I'd like to share the places we've been in these past 5 years.

• We have visited 5 countries: Costa Rica, Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Cancun (Mexico), Cabo San Lucas (Mexico), Australia, and New Zealand.

Mt. Cook, New Zealand

Sydney, Australia

• We've seen many parts of 14 states.  Some of these include: Las Vegas (NV), Grand Canyon (AZ), San Diego (CA), Los Angeles (CA), San Francisco (CA), Yosemite (CA), Virginia Beach (VA), Fort Lauderdale (FL), St. Petersburg/Tampa (FL), Jacksonville (FL), Savannah (GA), Denver (CO), Breckenridge (CO), Lake Champlain (NY and VT), Washington DC, Long Beach Island (NJ), Delaware Water Gap (NJ), Philadelphia (PA), Catskill Mountains (NY), Mt Greylock State Park (MA), and Newport (RI).

Grand Canyon, AZ

Many of these trips were taking before the blog begin in December 2009, but Australia, New Zealand and some of the southeastern U.S. trips have been taken since then.  As I reflect on these trips, I know there is no one I'd rather travel with than my husband!  It brings me great joy to think of all the places we still have yet to see!!

Happy anniversary to my best friend, my husband, my love!