Happy Birthday, Caleb | You're Golden. - Maison Meredith Photography Blog

Happy Birthday, Caleb | You’re Golden.

August 3, 2017

Happy Golden Birthday, my love.

A photographer that I follow once shared that she views her blog and social media platforms not as just those things (a blog, an Instagram account, a Facebook profile, etc.) but rather as a place to also tell her story, document her life, and leave a part of her legacy. I loved that so much. Because while I LOVE sharing weddings and our client’s love stories (as they, too, are a small part of our story!) I also want this to be a place where I can document our personal life and experiences.

And so here we are.

What a year it’s been since your last birthday. We launched a new website, shot our 100th wedding(!!), went tubing down the Sugar River with friends, celebrated two years of marriage, witnessed your dad marry Andrea, went to Memphis and Denver, had good friends live with us for nine months, started coaching with Julia, spent a weekend in Elkhart Lake at Tauschek’s Log Home B&B with friends, took our annual snowboarding trip with the Macs, visited San Francisco, celebrated my mom’s 60th birthday in Chicago, launched our marriage newsletter, traveled throughout China and Thailand for three weeks, had lots of game nights with friends, many “sundowns” on the porch, another awesome experience at CONNECT, stayed with your brother in Atlanta, watched your sister get her Master’s Degree, hugged our best friends as they moved across the country, and ended the year with a camping trip up north in Madeline Island.

So many memories and there is NO ONE else I would rather experience them with.

This year we celebrated your golden birthday and I have to say, you really are golden. I have never met anyone quite like you. Your “heart of gold” is the thing that I admire most about you. Let me explain a little bit better.

I think the downfall of man is that we are so quick to judge others. We see someone do something or hear someone say something and immediately we make a judgment about them based on what we think we know to be true about them or what they said or what they did. We judge one another constantly — ALL the time — and this judgement leads to shame, bullying, hurt, conflict, hatred, division, etc.

I know that, of course, you are not perfect and you do judge people, but I have never met someone who really lives a judgment-free life (as much as that is possible) as you do. You are SO loving, so accepting of others, so eager to believe the best about them and get to know them for who they truly are. You are one of the kindest people I have ever met and people are drawn to you, so quickly and easily, because you have this aura and presence that really, truly says, “I am not judging you. I just want to know you and serve you and love you. Let’s have a beer together ; ).”

This characteristic of your personality is SO admirable and something that I respect so much AND have so much to learn from. On your golden birthday, it’s the most natural thing to celebrate <3

I love you and am so thankful for you,

M

P.S. Let’s share some pics from our camping trip over the weekend to Madeline Island, shall we?!

On our way up north, we stopped for lunch at Grandma Shirley’s house!

We also made a stop at Copper Falls State Park!!

Sooooo beautiful!!!

… and iPhone-style 😛

This viewpoint was called “Devil’s Gate” because of the gate-like formation of the rocks down the river (you can see if you look closely!!)

Once you drive about as north as you can possibly go in Wisconsin, you take a ferry ride (car and all!) to get to the island!!

Yes, we drive a Buick … yes, we LOVE it … yes, this should TOTALLY be a Buick ad!!!

This is how you should celebrate your birthday, right? Drinking a beer and watching while everyone else does the work ; )

The Apostle Islands (Madeline Island is one of them) are famous for these beautiful red rock formations! I was also AMAZED at how crystal clear and clean the water was!!!!