I just got done reading Justin's latest update on JY on the Road. And I'm sad. Times are changing. In so many ways. As I was watching the video link on his blog on the death of the Rocky Mountain News it felt so personal to me, for him. I was never a paper reader, I've never been a news junkie. But I have listened to Justin for the past ten years tell me about how some of his fondest moments in life were associated with journalism.

When we first got married and were settling into it's newness, I was giving him a hard time about how antisocial he was at the breakfast table. He looked up and said "I read the paper when I eat breakfast. It's been part of my morning ritual as long as I remember. I get my toast and read my paper. So get used to it."It ruffled my feathers at the time, but truth be told, it's so Justin. I know him better now than I did then and I love that about him. He's a news man. He loves the stories.

It's been part of him well before I knew him. He said one of the most influential people in his life was his Journalism teacher in high school. Justin was goofing off in class one day and Mr. Mitchell pulled him out in the hall and shoved him up against the wall and told him in so many words, quit messing around, because you're good. Really good. So apply yourself and do something with it. So he did. He was the sports editor for his high school paper and again in college worked on the newspaper staff. He even won an award from the Georgia College Press Association for the best column written by any college student in the entire state. An entire wall in our basement, which I affectionately call 'The Man Pit' is lined with his media passes and press credentials. We have bins, that he refuses to let go of, filled with old papers and magazines. Some with stories by others. Some by him. He told me he was strolling through the airport one day and picked up a USA Today and flipped it open and there was his work. I remember him telling me how satisfying it was to see that, that all his hard work was paying off. Our bathroom is never at a shortage of books with stories in them from what Justin considers the greats. I'd be lying if I told you I myself haven't read my fair share of Rick Reilly. One Christmas tradition in our house is that every year Justin would receive the newest edition of the Best American Sportswriting series. It is not unusual for him to be standing in the shower and run headline ideas by me. He doesn't leave for a game without his recorder and like the people in the Rocky Mountain News video a pen and a paper are never far away. I find his papers with hastily written chicken scratch throughout my house. He's earned the nickname "The Mayor of Basketball" from me, because the man knows everyone. You can't go to any kind of sporting event without people coming up to him and shaking his hand and saying "Justin Young, how's it going man!". He goes into some pretty rough areas to cover games and it used to worry me. But now I just laugh because I know that Justin is one of the 'guys' in many of these rough spots. If anyone messes with him, they mess with a whole crowd. He has earned a respect in the industry that crosses all lines.

My point is...it's in his blood. He's a writer. So it makes me sad as we watch this death of an industry. It makes me sad that not only Justin, but so many journalists elsewhere find themselves at a crossroads of knowing what their passion is but struggling to find an available market to tell their stories. I can only hope that no matter where they go or what they do professionally, that the love of the story will never leave them.

I put my picture from when I was in Kindergarten up on my facebook page and everybody kept saying how much my rugrat self and Brynna look alike! So let's just make it official and take the poll on the right. Do you think so?

Holy cow, they could be twins!!! - 7 votes

There's definite similarities, but not exact. - 19 votes

You can tell they're related but don't really look alike. - 2 votes

Not at all! - 0 votes

Ten years ago this morning Justin and I told our parents we were getting married. I'll never forget the pink heart shaped pancakes at the breakfast table that Jody had made. We sat down and Justin's whole family was staring at us. "Well...." Justin said. "Well what!" Jody said impatiently "Wells are where water comes from, what do you have to say!" Then we called my parents, my Dad was in the shower. My Mom told him "Mark, Sarah and Justin are on the phone and they want to talk to us both." Pause....then Dad says "You got to be sh**ing me." Papa Bear wasn't so exuberant. We'd really only been around each other for three days before deciding to spend the rest of our lives together. Now looking back from the outside looking in, it was crazy, it was stupid, it was sudden... but it worked. We felt with our hearts and not with our heads. The past decade has given us the creation of our family. Our own branch of the Young-McLean tree. It's given us experience and more maturity. It's given us our beautiful daughters. And it's given us the reassurance that while it was completely crazy, ten years ago today the choice a couple of crazy kids made has grown into a love better than anything either of us could have ever imagined.

This is what the Young boys looked like when I first met them. Holy cow! What's funny is I'm only a year older than Kevin and look how young he looks! And Daniel, Adam and Aaron are so little! I shouldn't make fun, Justin saw this picture and said "Wow honey, you had Mom-jeans, before you were even a Mom!" Ouch! Not a good look, especially rockin' the extra chubs I was sportin' back in the day!

Tonight Justin was reading the girls 'Dance with Angelina' before bed. I was sitting on the couch across from them listening and this is what it sounded like...

Justin: "Angelina is doing an...what the heck is that word?"
Maryn: "It says arabesque Daddy."
Justin: looks at me for reassurance
Sarah: "She's right, it is arabesque."
Justin: "Okay, Angelina is doing an ARE-A-BESS-CUE?"
Sarah: "No sweetie, it's arabesque."
Maryn: "Don't worry Dad. Someday you'll get all this lady stuff."

It was so hilarious!

When Maryn was about three years old, Justin started taking her on Daddy-Daughter Dates to watch basketball with him. I have loved watching her interest in the sport grow as Justin tells me of how she roots for teams and asks questions about the 'Big Guys'. Well, Monday night it was Brynna's turn to start taking part in the one-on-one time at basketball games with Dad. Maryn told her what kind of M&M's to get (that's part of the tradition too, M&M's and basketball!) and after dinner we sent Brynna & Justin out the door for their special date. Brynna had such a great time and still even last night she was telling me how much she loves going on dates with Dad. I just loved getting to see her little face beam and know that this will be one of those traditions that the girls will remember for the rest of their lives!

My first job out of Dental Assisting school, eleven years ago, was for a Periodontist (gums). The first time I observed a surgery I got that pins and needles sensation all over my whole body and felt the blood drain from my face... uhhh, that's a lot of blood. But once I got in assisting and had a job to do, I found I really liked the challenge. We did all sorts of surgical goodies, dental implants, bone grafting and free gingival grafting to name a few. Not that it means anything to any of you besides a lot of weird dental words (except for maybe my brother, Dr. Steve). The coolest thing we did was peel this guys face back over his chin and harvested some of the bone from his chin and reconstructed his alveolar ridge with it. I was just amazed at what the human body and modern technology together could accomplish. I did Perio for a year and liked it, but hated the guy I worked for and so I moved on to Endodontics (root canals). We would do the occasional retrofill on a stubborn and calcified canal once in awhile, which would keep that surgical part of my brain alive. But then when Justin and I moved to Georgia, I got started with Pedodontics (kids) and Orthodontics (everyone knows that!) and stuck with it. I've loved my time focused on those specialties and really thought if I ever went back to work, I could be totally happy sticking with Pedo or Ortho.

Today however, I scored a part-time gig, really close to my house going back to my surgical roots (haha, get it, roots... like on your teeth... oh never mind!) I'll be working in the mornings for an Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon. The hours are perfect for being a mom, 8:00-12:00, four days a week. I'll be done by the time Brynna gets home from preschool. I'm excited for this new challenge. It's going to be nice to sweep the cobwebs out of my brain and still get to come home and do what I love best... being a MOM!

So those chain letters we hated getting as kids...this is kind of like that, only funner. As posted on my Facebook page...

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I can't believe I'm attempting this again after Maryn erased the whole dang thing the last time I did it! But here we go!

2. I hate the sound of the bathroom fan. It's like finger nails on a chalkboard. I would much rather have a foggy mirror than listen to a dull roar.

3. I love Heidi Klum. She seems fun and real. And as an added bonus she can pull off sexy without being skanky. Nothing bugs me more than a hooch. And as Justin pointed out, the older she gets the more beautiful she is. I totally agree. In fact it makes the whole aging thing not quite so scary! :)

4. When I was in high school, and all the girls wanted Honda Civics or little Acura Integras, the car I really wanted was a Toyota Tacoma truck.

5. I know this is the Dental Assistant in me coming through, but it bothers me when people walk around with scuzzy teeth! Holy cow, just brush! You can't control how straight or crooked your teeth are, but dang it EVERYONE can have clean teeth!

6. I wish that when Stacy London (What Not to Wear) cleaned out her closets (which has to be often) I would be the lucky recipient of all of her hand-me-downs. The girl has style (hence her job) and I've never seen her wear something I wouldn't love to wear myself.

7. My friend Tammy 'sold' a Mitsubishi Mighty Max truck to Justin and I for $5 when Justin was in college. It was beat up and poop brown, but dang that thing just kept on going and we got about two years out of it! Best car 'purchase' ever!

8. My life is pretty much filled with constant noise (primarily from the incessant chatter from my offspring) which makes me crave quiet. But when the kids are gone and I have it, I miss the sounds of my family. Is that fickle?

9. The only thing I learned in Ms. Embry's third grade class was how to play chinese checkers, that you should keep your filthy paws off of cashmere, and that a teacher's boyfriend could indeed spin cookies in the parking lot outside the classroom window.

10. Not that I would ever want to do high school over again, but I wish I could have done it then with what I know now.

11. I wish that the set of 30 Rock was real life and I could work there.

12. When sitting, I like to put my feet up, cross them at the ankle and rub my feet together. It's a McLean thing.

13. I honestly don't think I've ever won anything... not even a cake walk. Hopefully my luck is saving up for something big!

14. I love Egg's Benedict, especially on my birthday.

15. Raw onions and peppers are repulsive and those who eat them should not be kissed.

16. I had a hard time talking to people until I had children. I was shy and the thought of it gave me anxiety. For some reason having kidlets helped me turn a corner in my brain. Now, I'll talk to pretty much anyone.

17. I am unimpressed by celebrity and I don't get the psychotic obsession people have with it. Who cares that whoever is dating whoever, who cares what so and so wore, who cares who looks fat or thin, who cares, who cares, who cares! Certainly some people are deserving of attention because of their talents or whatever, great, fine. It's just these new breeds of worthless celebrities that are famous because of their sheer retardedness... I just don't get it.

18. I'm ready to feel some sun on my skin.

19. I hope I make it to heaven. I'd like to imagine that it has lots and lots of beautiful flowers, beautiful soft grass that you get to walk around barefoot in, and all of your most favorite people to talk to.

20. I would love to have a beautiful yard someday with a cool, old tree and a hammock. It may never happen, which is why I hope for #19.

21. I love music and wish that I myself were musical. Who knows, I'm only 28, I've got plenty of time to learn an instrument before I die.

22. I have this fantasy of secretly learning a foreign language and then going on a trip to that land. And then just play it cool until some random moment and then bust out with perfect fluency and wow all my travel companions. You have to admit, that would be pretty awesome!

23. I wonder, when I die, which of my things or things about me will be meaningful to my children. What will they see or smell or touch that will remind them of me and be the things that they want to pass on to their children?

24. I wish I could ride a horse on a regular basis.

25. In spite of #13, I'm a very lucky/blessed girl!

This bad boy brought even Justin, who is a serious chocolate lover, to his knees!

I realized two things things this weekend.

1.) I could really get used to going on two dates every weekend.

2.) That even if I was meeting Justin again for the first time, I would totally date him, fall in love with him, and marry him all over again. He is so awesome and I'm so glad I can call him mine!