Water Balloon Birthday

Today, we celebrate the one who is so often behind the keyboard of Unbinded Life!

Four years ago, during the height of the global pandemic, Opal and I plastered the walls of our house with chart paper. Day in and day out, we poured our hearts out onto those walls—our values, our dreams, our wishes, and our goals for our family and our lives. We asked ourselves if we could do anything at all, what would it be? How would we spend our time? Where would we go? What would we do? If we were to design our life from the ground up, what would it look like?

There is one thing I specifically remember Opal saying during that time. And trust me, there were PLENTY of brilliant nuggets of wisdom and insight she shared! But one thing stood out to me then, and it still resonates with me today…

Opal said she wanted a life where we could play, and a place to call home that allowed for this.

That was huge to me!! Something that may seem so simple truly played a huge role in the life we’ve built here for ourselves. A life truly built by design.

The hikes, the waterfalls, the rafting, the walks, the lakes, the views, the creeks, the streams, and the list goes on and on. So much of what we do and how we choose to spend our time now traces back to one of Opal’s most significant contributions in Summer 2020—a life designed to embrace and allow for “play.”

So, when I asked today what she’d like to do and how she’d like to spend her birthday afternoon, in typical Opal fashion she said, “I want to have a family water balloon fight!”

So, we loaded up in the car, drove to the store, and bought the largest pack of water balloons they sold! Then, we came home, filled them up, divided into teams, and relocated our buckets of bounty to the front yard. And we had the most epic water balloon fight ever!

This. This is what life is about. And Opal is the one in our family to credit for prioritizing play. Play just like when we were kids!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Opal!! We love you so incredibly much and the light and life you breathe into our family each and every day!