Yesterday was a full day.

It started with baking homemade sourdough bagels and the kids making pancakes (because they’re tired of my sourdough bagels, but that’s another story). Breakfast was followed by soccer practice for Aaron and Luke, and a game of Clue for me and Aya. We then squeezed in a quick walk near the old thermal plant, where we spotted a couple of deer and a bear — which immediately made us ditch our search for the loudly croaking frogs in the forest.

The mini hike was followed by a trip to the Tysoes to drop off the kids for a sleepover. After catching up and sharing a few laughs with our parents, Aaron and I headed to Botanist for our date night. At dinner, we revisited our goals after a two-year hiatus (because life got in the way), and we were pleasantly surprised to see we’ve hit a fair number of them. Then, our fantastic meal (a Christmas gift from our parents!) was followed by a burlesque show downtown with friends. We ended the night back at our quiet home, relaxing in front of the TV before heading to bed.

So why the long narration of yesterday’s events? Because that 24 hours felt like a snapshot of Aaron and my 12 years together. It’s a life full of moments — the mundane everyday stuff like breakfast, the excitement and slight nervousness of little adventures like seeing the deer and the bear, the small “failures” like not finding the frogs, the joy of time spent with family and friends, and the intentional carving out of space for just us – sharing our ambitions and silly jokes.

Just like our 24 hours yesterday, we genuinely enjoyed and like our 12 years of marriage.