Happy Anniversary, Love!

Well, folks, today is my 8 year anniversary. Yep, we made it past the 7 year itch!! I was worried there for a little while, but what married person doesn't? Anyone who tells you that they NEVER worry about their relationship with their significant other is a BIG FAT LIAR!!!

Tim and I have been married for 8 years, but we've been together for - hang on, let me do the math - 15 years?!?! Wow ... Some of my friends today knew us then. If you didn't, here's a picture. Back in the day ...

So we were together all through high school. It's hard for me to remember a lot of that time. I guess it's kind of like how you forget the pain of child birth after the fact. Seriously, we had our ups and downs and downs ... like all high school couples do. Everything is more dramatic, nothing is what it seems, everyone is jealous all the time, and you think you'll DIE when you break up or see them with someone else. We went through all of that for 3 years, then went our separate ways my senior year of high school. For those of you who knew me then, you know why that's a GOOD THING!!

In college we reconnected (don't remember how, neither does he). I showed him what kind of life he was missing (ha ha), and we were engaged 3 months later. The rest, as they say, is history.

So what does married for 8 years feel like?

It feels unbelievable. Hard to believe I've been with this man for half of my life. Hard to believe that we've been through some of the toughest times in our lives together. And the happiest. I lost my dad with him. We've been though 2 battles with cancer with his parents. We've moved 3 times. We've conceived and birthed the 2 most beautiful children. Unbelievable ...

People often look at me strangely, as if they feel sorry for me, when I say that I have achieved all the things I wanted for myself. Well, don't feel sorry for me. Yes, I married my high school sweetheart; but I have missed out on nothing by not dating others. Yes, I'm a stay-at-home mom, and I was "only" a teacher before. But I would not trade my time with my kids for anything right now. I "only" have a bachelor's degree, but it's from one of the greatest universities, as far as I'm concerned! I lived out of my suit case in college, but still managed to make some of the best friends in those 4 years. And I don't feel like I've missed out on one thing in marrying early and having my kids in my 20's.

So 8 years have come and gone. And, Lord knows, they weren't perfect. But they were ours. And I'm sure that when I look back in another 40 years or so, I'll think, "Man, we had it all then." (Alan Jackson's song, "Remeber When" keeps running through my head!) And I'll be as thankful then for my wonderful husband as I am now!!

Happy anniversary, love!