09/13/2026
Talk about a full-circle moment. ❤️
We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary at Fig Tree this year, and I couldn’t help but think about the last time we were here.
Our 9th anniversary. 2023.
I was eight months sober.
I remember sitting at that table, staring at Ryan’s glass of w**e while he was in the restroom. I knew nobody would ever know if I took a sip. I remember that feeling so clearly.
The temptation.
The bargaining with myself.
The immediate guilt and shame that came over me for even thinking about it.
And then I remember the moment I told myself: Not today. Not ever again.
That decision gave me back so much more than sobriety. It gave me my power back.
And three years later, sitting in that same restaurant celebrating another anniversary, I couldn’t help but think about how much we’ve both grown and how far we’ve come together.
When I stopped drinking, our entire dynamic changed. We had always been drinking buddies. It was part of how we celebrated, relaxed, connected, dealt with stress… pretty much everything.
And then I made a decision to change and suddenly, we weren’t the same couple.
We had to relearn what it meant to have fun together. We had to learn how to actually talk through our problems instead of numbing them. We had to figure out how to navigate parenting, stress, hard seasons, and all the messy parts of life without alcohol being the buffer.
It hasn’t always been easy. Sometimes, it still isn’t. But it has always been worth it.
Ryan still drinks occasionally, but so much less than he used to. And I’ve changed in ways that go far beyond not drinking. We are both changing.
Maybe that’s one of the most beautiful parts of growing together-realizing that you don’t have to stay the same people you were when you said “I do.” Twelve years into this marriage, we are not the same people we were standing there in 2014.
I’m really grateful we get to keep growing, changing, and becoming better versions of ourselves, together. Proud of me. Proud of us. Cheers to 12 years! And many more.
