Now that I'm off for a bit of time and have taken a break from curricular writing, I have decided it was about time to write a small blog reflecting on ten years of knowing and developing and just being with Xiao. Might I just say, that it truly is scary just how quickly ten years goes by. Every year I wish for time to slow down just a smidge and every year, it just seems to go by so much faster.

 It's hard to believe I have been teaching for 8-9 years (including full time student-teaching) and it is impossible to believe that we met at 20 and 22 and are now 30 and 32 years old. It is also hard to fathom that Xiao is now in his 5th (second to last year) of residency training at Pitt Plastics. This ten year journey has been such a special one. In so many ways, we are both exactly the same souls we were ten years ago and in so many ways we are not. I would say perhaps we have grown in wisdom and certainly in heart (at least I would like to think so.) Though, I think this happens to many humans as time progresses, and we learn who we truly are but also what a gift it is to wake up every day together in happiness and in health. This is where time creates the wisdom I do suppose. 

Thought I am a bit biased, I would say meeting someone so early and staying with them through it all has allowed both of us to see truly every part of our hearts and souls as well as our vocational journeys in the making. I met Xiao, believe it or not, right when he was applying to medical school. After three months of dating, he was accepted at The University of Pittsburgh. I chuckle as I realize we have been together for ten years and his medical journeys is just now slowly coming to a close, or he is just getting started depending on how you look at it! Nevertheless, I remember both of sitting ten years ago and saying to ourselves, "it will be crazy when we can say we have been together for ten years." And here we are! As for most, life humbles us a long the way. Both of us have had our fair share of ups and down. However, I would say with great confidence that both of us love what we do (though sometimes the days can be difficult), and we are passionate about the population of humans we serve. We have celebrated through the low points but also celebrated our high points as well both as individual and as a collective unit. We have made it work despite the long hours in the hospital and the classroom, the beautiful beeper, the months of night float, uncertainties of moving during residency and now fellowship. However, one thing is for certain, when one of us is feeling down the other does their best to lift the heart of the other and this balance is what (in my opinion) has kept us going. We also have absolutely never missed a weekly "date night" and for us, I think this has kept us grounded in terms of our reflection of the weeks and months, hopes for the future and just valuing our time together (no matter how short on some days.) Never underestimate the power of good food because it could be the "best food you have ever had." It has been lovely to see another human grow so intentionally, so beautifully and so humbly. Xiao certainly has one of the most humble hearts and this not something I ever take for granted. I am blessed to have witnessed his life journey as well. 

Now, here we are, celebrating our 10th Holiday Season with family and friends and though we are both always going to be invested in our vocational purposes and igniting our passionate drives, we are both feeling the magic of a renewed life purpose which is bringing another life in this world to make the world even brighter (which in my opinion, is probably life's greatest gift as it is.) The arrival of our baby girl comes at a perfect time as it will be our 5th year married and our 10 year milestone together. It comes at a time when Xiao will be figuring out where his final year of training will be (albeit out of Pittsburgh for a year) and where we will close this journey together as a small little family before officially and finally settling somewhere we can call "home" for the long term. It comes at a time where our little one will have a cousin playmate (baby Gio), and they will get to experience the magic of their first years together in the same city (only 22 minutes apart) which we are very grateful for. Xiao has dreamt for probably the past ten years that our baby would be a "girl," and we are delighted to announce that baby girl Luna Zhu will be joining the world (hopefully sometime in late April.) Luna is an Italian name for moon and also a reminder of how important it is to be the light for others and notice the light when there is sometimes darkness. Luna is certainly the "light" of this past year for both of us as 2022 had a bit of a rocky start. But as Xiao, the eternal optimist, always says, everything always works out in the end, and I believe him- it truly does. 

Cheers to my soulmate of 10 years (although longer if we count our "meet cute" in high school), cheers to making it through some churning waters of life together, for finding light in the waves and for always managing to create light together through pure love, joy, patience and respect for eachother. Cheers to (in my humble opinion besides my family members), one of the greatest humans I have ever met and as I tell him often, probably the only one who could really deal with my constant type A attitude (though we are both similar in that respect so hopefully Luna will be a bit chiller)- judging by the amount of kicks we are in for a bit of humor I think. But what is life without a little zest? You have to have it if you want to live life to its fullest. We welcome 2023 with more date nights, more love, good health and the love of family and friends and the beautiful support we have both received all of these years. We are who we are because of the humans that raised us, and we hope to create that same village for our little Luna. Love is the secret recipe to all of life's beauty .2023 will continue to be a life of adventure, giving back, kindness, making new memories, trying to slow time down a bit, remembering old traditions, finding renewed purpose in life and remembering to be a moon for others. Happy ten years to my lifelong best friend (minus Nick of course ;)

Love, 

Bri