It’s 7am on a Saturday morning, the 29th of February to be exact. It’s the one day every 4 years we’re able to pause, letting time stall for 24 hours before cranking it back up again. It’s 25 degrees outside in Louisville, KY. A place neither AJ and I had ever been before he accepted a coaching opportunity here 3 weeks ago. I just dropped him off at his first Saturday of spring ball, fed my dog, kicked off my Ugg boots, and climbed back into bed.

The sun hasn’t quite come up yet, so my Honeysuckle-scented candle lights the room just enough to feel a sense of peace & solitude around me. And my mind wanders off to this time last year…

A year ago I lived with my sister in Florida. I’d always dreamed of being roommates in a little apartment, navigating our twenties & staying up late eating ice cream together, but I never thought we’d actually have the chance. So the need to find a place to crash a few months before my wedding turned out to be one of the biggest blessings in disguise.

Fast forward to today: both of my sisters live 10 minutes down the street from our home in Atlanta, and I see them almost every single day.

A year ago we were planning our wedding. Today we’re planning how we’ll spend our first anniversary just 10 days from now, reflecting on this *equally-beautiful-as-it-is-confusing* bundle of blessings we’ve received in the past year. (The path to success is not a straight line, y’all. If I learned anything in the last 365 days, that was it.)

A year ago we were trying to figure out how we’d combine our belongings and transport them, and ourselves, up the east coast to Boston. A place we’d soon call our very first home together, where we bought our first furniture together, cooked our first holiday meal together, spent way too much money on sushi & mai tai’s, became Bachelor watching buddies, met some pretty incredible friends & made even better memories.

Today we have our home in Georgia, where we’ve learned how much we didn’t know about buying property (anybody else first time homeowners??).

A year ago we were high on life in AJ’s first year playing professional football, weeks after he took home a Super Bowl ring. Today we’re celebrating his exciting new career coaching college ball. One that will bring us more stability, a better foundation to plant roots, and a guaranteed lifetime of game days!!

A year ago I was on the brink of change at work. I have always loved my job – but at the time I felt I had so much more to offer than there was room to give. In fact, this time last year I sat down with my boss and told her I felt underutilized, passionate about so much more, and asked permission to act on the ideas I had.

Today I manage a team of 5 insanely gifted Graphic Designers and get to spend my days nurturing talent, building people up, and constantly improving my corner of the business. I have both the best team, and the best boss I’ve ever had. I’m doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m only 25 years old.

A year ago today I had so much anxiety over the constant change happening in my life. Today I still do. I still bite my nails like crazy. I still feel out of control a lot of the time – frustrated with things not going how I expected.

Just 2 weeks ago I was sitting in AJ’s arms on our living room couch, crying hopelessly over how unhappy and directionless I felt in the midst of all the moving & adjusting we face with football. I wasn’t ready to accept that he got a call one day and was moving to Kentucky the next. It was suppose to be off-season where we’d be home, take vacations, see family, & not have to think about moving again for 3 months. I wasn’t ready to accept that we’d probably have to sell our house after establishing a home base that I thought we’d have for years to come. I had just started painting our new office the day before.

But on this day, February 29th 2020, I am acutely aware of how happy I actually am. I look at all I’ve just shared with you, of all the ways God has propelled me forward in just one year, and I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I have the job I always wanted & am learning so much. I married the best guy & best friend I could have ever asked for. We’ve travelled all over the country since last February and lived in 3 new states. After years of missing my family, I get to spend every single weekend with my sisters. My dog is the best little buddy ever & our daily walks have become an impactful source of “me time” in my days. And you know what all of this tells me?

Happiness must truly be a choice. And maybe things not going as planned really is the biggest blessing you can receive.

It’s funny how easy it is to believe advice on being happy & know that God’s plan is better than your own. But it actually comes in the form of an epiphany when you feel the weight of each truth as you experience it for yourself.

I get that life is going to throw me curveballs and send me for a loop sometimes. But I certainly do want to choose happiness in the midst of it all. Maybe doing so is as simple as its been for me today: writing out what I’m most thankful for, and where I’ve come in the past year.

Life is all about perspective. Use this extra day (you won’t get another for 4 more years) to gain some perspective of your own, and choose happiness in your life.

God bless you all today!