August 21, 2009... interrupting a Mario Kart 64 Marathon to take a picture...
Today Chris and I celebrate eleven years of wedded bliss! As each anniversary rolls around, I always feel a little bit impressed with myself. I used to compare us to the famous celebrity marriages ("we've been married longer than Tom and Nicole!"), but those don't seem as formidable as they were when we only had a few months under our belts. Now that we're settling comfortably in the double digits, it's less about the number of years we've racked up, and more about the fact that we actually still enjoy our day-to-day lives with each other. Eleven years of hanging out with the same guy-- you have to admit, that's pretty cool.
Moving is kind of like taking a treacherous hike along your past-- it's amazing the kind of junk you dig up. It's impossible for me to clean out a closet or a drawer without getting momentarily sidetracked by its contents. Yesterday I cleaned out our "etcetera" drawer, the place where we put things we're not sure what else to do with. In addition to random batteries, Sharpies, buttons and leftover Jack-o-lantern tea lights, I also found a few old pictures. One was of Chris and me in Ensenada, Mexico, where we ate incredible fish tacos and churros, and Chris discovered the real reason why people warn against drinking the water. Another was us with big smiles and matching tee-shirts at a family reunion in Colorado, where we spent an unplanned $300 and spent nearly a week without a car because of a leaky "fuel intake valve"... whatever that is. And another was a fuzzy black and white image of almost nothing... that almost nothing that somehow turned into Neil.
I stopped my packing up for a few minutes to watch our Ten Year Slideshow and had so much fun reliving all of those different moments. It's fun to think about all of the places, the food, the friends, and the laughs we've had, not to mention the three amazing children! How can I not be impressed?
I love that Chris and I have eleven years worth of pictures together, and I love even more that each of those pictures carries a wealth of memories that sometimes only we know about. I love being reminded, again, how truly lucky I am to share my life with such an incredible person.
I love you, Hunsty!! Happy 11 years-- here's to an eternity more!