Will the ache in my soul ever go away? Will the pain cease to catch me off-guard randomly? Will I ever not choke up or get that lump in my throat when I re-watch videos like this one?

When I examine the present and look to the future, I am indeed hopeful.

But when I look to the past, I am still sad. Very, very sad.

I can’t wait to see her again.

Was it yesterday when we met each other? Was it only a day ago when we were strolling around the loop at LeTourneau, chatting merrily as we became friends on those balmy, Texas nights? Surely it was just yesterday when you looked at me and said, “I guess so,” when I asked you to be my girlfriend. It had to be only yesterday when we drove to Florida and back for our Honeymoon. We enjoyed that amazing hangar steak at CC Whittaker in St Louis just yesterday, right? It had to be yesterday when we pranced around Rome looking for that one place that had the insanely great gelato. Wasn’t it? Was it yesterday when we drove to the hospital through a blizzard and returned home a few days later with our beautiful Lauren? Wasn’t it yesterday when we landed in Guatemala and gazed at our princess, Carmen, for the very first time? Or when we found out that she was going to die much too soon? Was it yesterday when Hope bounced into our lives? Or when we said goodnight to Carmen for the last time on earth? Was it yesterday when we moved from MD to CA?

Where did the time go and how did it pass so quickly?

Wherever it’s gone, I am so thankful that I’ve spent the past 17 years with you. We’ve had our ups. We’ve had our downs. We’ve gone through great times and, well, pretty horrible times too. We’ve thrived and struggled.

You’ve always been there.

We love you, Mom!

Your girls are so fortunate to have you as their mom. And I’m so lucky to have you as my wife.

I pray for a great many more yesterdays with you by my side!

With all my love,

Dave

***

For this week’s “More About You Monday” question, will you please wish Lana a very Happy 36th Birthday?

***

I’ve never met anyone who can ask questions as well as my mother. Sometimes, it can be annoying — like when you are trying to tell her a story and she wants to know every single detail and all you want to do is get to the crescendo. But most of the time, you can’t help but walk away from a conversation with my mom and think, I sure did talk about myself a lot! Or, if you’re an observer of a conversation with my mom but are not the recipient of her questions, you walk away thinking, I sure did learn a lot about that person.

My mom doesn’t seem interested in talking about herself that much. She’s far more interested in learning about you. She’s genuinely interested in the details of your life.

***

As we drove out of the parking lot of that local Mexican restaurant last Sunday, Lana and I agreed; we sure did talk about ourselves a lot. We certainly didn’t plan to talk so much but the questions just kept on coming.

Our pastor and his family seem to be a lot like my mom. They asked question after question, trying to get to know who we are.

***

Some people get the art of the question. People like my mom. People like our pastor and his family. They are masters!

I want to be like them.

At one point, I was probably a better photographer than Lana from a creative perspective (composition, angles, etc.). But she’s always been better than me technically (focus, exposure, etc.). With hard work and lots of practice, I think Lana’s caught up creatively and, as such, is a much better photographer than me today, even though neither of us are where we want to be yet.

Don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate the compliments people occasionally make about our photos and can understand why some of you think that I create them, considering that I created many of the early photos on the site and have created all the videos to-date.

However, many  — I would say well over half — of the photos posted on this site were created by Lana. It’s probably even more than that in recent months as I’ve been really busy with work.

So if you like a photo, be sure to aim your compliments at Lana. Most likely, she created it!

I just thought you should know.

The video above was created by North Point Media.

I'm really glad we didn't walk to California!

After arriving late last night, Day 1 in California was everything we hoped it would be. We met our landlord first thing in the morning for Lana to sign the lease and to get into our new house. A couple of hours later, our stuff arrived in two 6′x7′x8′ containers. An hour after that, our cars arrived. Our first official meal as Californians was…Chick-fil-A. Then we went to Super Wal-Mart to get some needed cleaning supplies, food basics, etc.

Several neighbors stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood. There were quite a few children playing in the cul-de-sac. Lauren asked if she could “walk around the oval” and within a minute was chatting with one of the girls.

Mom and Dad, we went on an airplane flight and we will not come back Love, Dave and Lana!

PS. We do plan on visiting but we really hope this becomes home.

***

A few nights ago, we went over to our neighbors’ house for dinner. Someone asked me what I’ll miss about Maryland. Without further ado, here’s my top ten list, starting with our neighbors but in no particular order:

• Azeb and Abiy. Every week, Lauren’s best friend, Maya, would come over to our house after school on Tuesdays and Lauren would go over to Maya’s house after school on Fridays. Thank you, Azeb and Abiy, for trusting us with your daughter. We knew we could completely trust you with our daughter as well. Thank you!

BFFs

• The People. OK, not all the people since, in general, we think Marylanders are stressed-out, grumpy and rude. But along the way, we met so many wonderful people who have enriched our lives. Thank you!

• Small Group. As written in this post, we met with three other couples almost every single Saturday night for several years. You guys mean the world to us and we seriously doubt that we could have made it through the past four years without you. Eric & Claudia, CF & Indira, Del & Cristina…thank you!

So Much Fun and Personal Growth

• Seasons. We won’t miss the humid, hot summers. Nor will we miss the cold winters without enough snow. We won’t miss the allergies that come with Spring or the blustery Fall winds. But there is a two-week period in late April or early May and also a two-week period in late September or early October. For about four weeks a year, the weather in Maryland simply can’t be beat. And because of the other seasons here, we appreciate those four weeks that much more. We will definitely miss you, “those four weeks!”

Fall Can Be Beautiful in MD

• Co-Workers. I’m not leaving the company that employs me; I’m simply transferring to the San Diego office. And since we’re fairly seamless as a bi-coastal organization, I often work with people in the San Diego office and, in some cases, work with more people in that office than the one here in MD. Yet there’s something about walking the halls and stopping by offices or having people stop by my office to chat that can’t be replicated over the phone. I’ll miss our coffee runs and, more recently, our mad dashes for frozen yogurt between meetings! I’ll miss the smiles on your faces when things are going well. I’ll miss being there to help bear your burdens — even if only in small ways — when things aren’t going so well. While we will continue working together, I look forward to your visits to San Diego and even look forward to my inevitable visits to Maryland. Thank you for putting up with me!

• Softball Teams. I’ve played on two different softball teams with many of the same people for the past 5 years. Some of our teams have been really good while others have struggled a bit. But even though I’m pretty competitive, I loved being a part of losing teams almost as much as being a part of winning teams…all because of my teammates. I looked forward to hanging out with you all each Wednesday and Thursday night and was disappointed when games were rained out. You’re awesome! Thank you.

That Team Won a Championship!

• My Boss. I’ve had the same boss since 2005 and have worked with her for ten years. While Lynn will continue to be my boss, we will no longer sit in the same corridor, building or state. Lynn, I’ll miss our candid and impromptu discussions about the latest issues, challenges and opportunities. I’ll miss exchanging ideas with you on a white board and our “violent agreements” when we were saying the same thing but just arriving at the same conclusion from opposite angles. Thanks for being such a great boss!

• Reminders. We brought Lauren home to a little condo in Rockville. We brought Carmen home to a townhouse in Germantown. We brought Hope home to this townhouse in Montgomery Village. Almost everyday, I drive by little reminders of life’s precious moments. When I see these reminders, I can’t help but smile, even for just an instant. I will miss driving on White Ground Road, which reminds me of the times Carmen giggled so loud when sunlight flickered through that tree-covered back road and into her eyes that couldn’t see much of anything. I will miss Black Hills Regional Park, where we “got away” to spend time as a family. I will miss “driving into the river” at Whites Ferry. I will miss the creek behind our house, where Lauren and I would go to practice photography. I will miss Panera, where Lauren and I often went for breakfast on Saturday mornings. So many reminders. So many great memories.

• Short Commute. Since late 2005, I’ve had about a 15 minute commute to work each day and didn’t have to get on any highways at all. I will definitely miss that!

I Don't Drive 55 mph to Work in MD

• Proximity to My Family. I cannot count the times that my Mom, Dad or both of them came down to our house from New York over the past few years. At one point, my Dad kept a bag packed and ready to go if we needed him to come down and help. My brother and his wife live a few short hours north in Philadelphia and we enjoyed going there for weekends or sending Lauren there when we needed a break. To all of our family but, in particular, to my Mom, Dad, Wes and Karen…Lana and I will miss living so close to you and can’t wait for your move to San Diego

Karen and Wes

Phew! That was a lot. Now it’s your turn. Stop and take some time today to think about it. If you were to move away from where you live now, what would you miss?

You’re welcome!

What a week indeed. We have come to know and grow close to so many people in this area. For those of you who we only know online, we consider it a privilege to know you. But for those who we know offline, we are that much more thankful to have been a part of your lives for this short while.

No doubt, we are super excited to begin a new chapter in our lives. Yet it is most certainly with great sadness that we will leave you this Monday. You have influenced and impacted us in ways that you’ll likely never know. We are grateful for you and we pray for God’s blessing on your lives.

Thanks so much for being our friends.

***

Have you ever come across a really great quote, and then forgot it before you wrote it down? Well, if you’re like me, it happens a lot. So this week, we want to know what great quotes you live by. Let’s make this the greatest list of quotes ever assembled in the history of mankind. Or just a really good list. Please share. What great quotes should we know?