A Lifetime in the Making

We're headed back from a long weekend in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic which was a destination wedding for our close friends, Celina & Josh. This was also our first getaway without our little man.

This trip had all the potential for disaster. We could have been trapped in an exotic location with a bridezilla and nearly 100 of her dramatic friends for 3 days of hell on earth all while missing our little man something fierce. But it didn't work out that way.

This was an affair filled with love and respect. The bride and groom were stunning and the wedding was spectacular. But above all they were appreciative of the friends and family that had come to celebrate with them. And celebrate we did! There was a whole lotta partying to keep our mind off missing Jackson.

It was a perfect weekend to show support for the new couple, reconnect with friends we haven't seen in a while, make some new friends and most critically reconnect as a couple ourselves.

It got me thinking about how you put together an event like this. Events like this don't just happen. I'm not talking about the wedding itself but rather gathering a group of friends and family together in such a way that everyone has a wonderful time. In a way that lets everyone reconnect and recharge. In a way that lets everyone express the love and joy they feel for each other. No - events like this don't just happen. And they surely don't happen overnight. They take many, many years perhaps even a lifetime of careful planning to develop the bonds that sustain the deep love and joy we experienced.

Being a family isn't just a state of mind but rather a series of interconnected relationships. Connections that need to be nurtured and nourished to grow strong enough to stand the test of time.

As a young family, we're realizing how important it is to continue cultivating and growing our relationship while we raise Jackson. He won't always be a rambunctious toddler. Eventually he'll grow up, go out into this great big world and we'll be left with each other in our empty nest. If we don't nurture our relationship then we'll struggle maintaining our connection. If we want him to build happy, healthy relationships along the way, we need to lead by example. And we intend to keep growing our relationship for a very long time!

So chime in and sound off. What have you done lately for you and your partner? What relationships do you allow in your life? How do they help your children grow and learn? How are you teaching your children to build long-lasting and substantial relationships?