Last week, we celebrated a very special milestone in Ryan’s soccer career. On Thursday, April 19 ,2019, Ryan played in his 100th professional soccer game here in Germany! It was such a remarkable day for the both of us, and although the game didn’t exactly go as planned, the whole experience was still super special. It will definitely be a day we will never forget!
If you know me in real life, you know that I am someone who absolutely LOVES to celebrate special moments. Whether it’s a big achievement or small success, I am always the first one to pop a bottle of champagne and raise a glass to the most recent triumph. So, of course, I had to plan a little something for this amazing accomplishment!
It’s safe to say I found myself getting (a tad) emotional that day! When we embarked on this journey just 4 years ago, we never could have anticipated where this life would have lead us. In the grand scheme of things, 100 games may not even seem like that many, but believe me, there were plenty of times where I questioned if we would even get this far (haha).
Over the years, Ryan has had so many obstacles and challenges thrown at him. Things like long-term injuries, being let go from a team, and even just struggling with the language barrier and the idea of being alone in a foreign country. It was hard… and to be honest, it still is! However, he continued to work in order to make his dreams a reality. He woke up every single day determined to make this work- no matter what. Anytime an obstacle was thrown into his path, he just picked it up, threw it to the side, and kept going. In my opinion, it takes a special kind of person to have a mindset like this. He is a stronger person than I will ever be and I must admit, I admire him so much for this.
Looking back on the past few years, I feel like there were so many times where we could thrown in the towel, given up, and just moved back home. Myself included! But, Ryan never gave in. He fought through the hard times and pushed forward. This life is a never-ending cycle of really high highs and really low lows and for every victory we have celebrated, we have faced just as many challenges. But, nothing has stopped him yet and I don’t think anything will ever stop him. I have never seen someone more motivated and determined to be the best that they could be, despite all the difficulties.
Although he thinks he hasn’t “made it” yet, there aren’t enough words to express how proud I am of this man and all that he has accomplished so far. I am so looking forward to the next 100 and I am incredibly honored to be doing this alongside him. I know it’s only the beginning of what’s to come!
