When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nanny when I grew up. So, obviously I never reached that goal, but I became something that is a MUCH bigger job! At the tender age of 21 when, for the first time, I was referred to as someone’s “Mommy”, I had no idea what kind of responsibility I was taking on, how my life would change, nor did I have any idea that when I turned 30, I would be madly in love with 3 gorgeous children and would give up my life at the drop of a dime for each one of them. Motherhood for me did not begin with ideal circumstances, but it didn’t take me long to realize that it was God’s wake-up call to change the direction my life was taking, and that Kaedyn, and now the girls, are on loan to this world to make it a better place, and to be an amazing blessing! I may be biased, but I definitely think they're already beginning to fulfill that purpose! What an honor it is that God chose little ol' me to be Mommy to Kaedyn, Madilyn, and Korynne. I love you, my honeys!
Another goal/dream of mine, like most girls/young women: ahhh, falling in love, Prince Charming riding in on his white horse to rescue you, sweep you off your feet, making you a Princess in a big beautiful wedding, living happily ever after in your big castle… Yes, ladies, you know what I’m talking about :). I remember my 23rd birthday in 2000, I was boating with my parents, telling them about how some guy I’d recently met through mutual friends and partied with the night before, thought it would be a good idea for us to get married that day but he never called that morning. So I thought it was yet another relationship off to a bad start :). But it wasn’t a bad start. It was a start to the best thing that ever happened to me. Little did I know, 2 years later I would be a princess in a big beautiful wedding and become Mrs. Kevin Campbell. He may not have rode in on a white horse, his name wasn’t Prince Charming, but he certainly did rescue me (through a year of diligent chiseling at the wall I’d built around my heart), and he certainly continues to sweep me off my feet 5 years later! Thanks to Kevin's hard work supporting this family, we’ve decided to put on hold our goal of being in a nice 4-bedroom house with a garage and a basement, in exchange for my leaving the full-time business world and raising our children, witnessing each of their firsts and stages of life, and trying to be the best wife I can be. I know we get into the rut of the day-to-day routine, and quite often I feel I fall short of being the Mrs. Wonderful he deserves, but he continues to love me unconditionally, flaws and all :). We’re moving past the baby-bearing phase of life (getting over that: there’s another entire page of thoughts to blog about :) and into the young-family phase. As Kevin says, one step closer to retiring when we have all the time in the world to spend with each other traveling the world! Life is going by at lightning speed so I don't want to rush it, but it is nice to know that someday, we will have that time together. Kevin, I love you so much, I’m proud to be your HPPY WFE, I love the way you love me, thank you for saving my life!Most people dread turning 30, and are quick to tell others how dreadful it is. I can honestly say, I’m excited to be turning 30. I’m guessing that most people’s dread has to do with the fact that the older we get, the more downhill our bodies go, and I would never have imagined that I would be an exception to this! Yes, after 4 years of getting comfortable in married life, and 2 babies within 2 years, my body had gone downhill fast! So October 21st of last year, I finally decided to buckle down and do something about it! Now 8 months later, thanks to the encouragement of my loving husband and other family members, Weight Watchers, and Leslie Sansone’s 3-mile Walk Away the Pounds dvd, I’m 45 pounds lighter, looking and feeling better than I have in many, many years! When I joined WW, I wanted to be happier when I looked in the mirror, but I had no clue that the biggest transformation would happen on the inside! In addition to continuing to strive for a deeper faith walk with God, taking care of myself physically has given me more energy to take on life head-on, and I’ve been sucked out of the pit of depression and low self-esteem that being overweight can cause. With my new body, a renewed spirit, and a fresh new hair style… Another 30 years?… Bring it on!!
As far as the big day itself, when I’ll be celebrating 3 decades; 30 years; 360 months; 1,560 weeks; 10,950 days; 262,800 hours… okay, okay, that’s enough of that!! I started to feel old for a minute there! Every year, we have a fun get-together with family and friends to celebrate the 4th of July; soaking in the summer sun, eating lots of yummy food, watching a great fireworks show (sometimes I’m having so much fun & getting caught up in the day’s festivities that I almost forget it’s my birthday :). I’m not really much of a party animal anymore (that certainly has changed over the last few years!), so I’m looking forward to spending the Independence Day celebration the same way as in the past, and hoping to just have a fun evening out with some close friends if we can coordinate everyone’s schedules!
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In conclusion (sigh… yes, it’s almost over :) - thanks for hanging in there with me!), I realize this reflection has been focused more on the past 8 years rather than all 30, but there are so many memories: ones that make me smile, ones that make me cry, loved ones come and gone, but all in all, I’d say I’ve had a pretty darn good life so far. A life that, like most people, is taken for granted. Thanks to each of you, my loved ones, who have been a part of it. Mom & Dad, Sisters & Brother, 3 greatest nephews & 3 greatest nieces in the world, In-Laws (I lucked out in that department :), Friends old and new, Extended family… I could go on & on! Even if I didn’t write specifically about you, please know I’m thinking of you, and grateful for your specific role in my past 30 years. There are so many more thoughts that I wanted to include here about other areas of my life, like my friendships, my career, my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group that I LOVE being involved in with; stories and thoughts about my family that I could write so much about, but for the sake of space and respect for the time of the readers, I’ll save those things for future blogs, if Kevin ever lets me have space on his again, or if I get around to setting up my own. :) (Yes, I use smileys a LOT). I look forward to making many more memories with you! Here’s a toast to the past 30 years, and to the rest of my life! With Much Love, MANDI
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