16 years...

Today's my anniversary. 16 years. wow. When you really think about it...16 YEARS!!! We are not doing anything terribly romantic or exciting this year. It's homecoming weekend and I need to be available to my kids to drive them here there and everywhere. But it's really ok. I want them to experience all the fun things about HS and MS so I will be here to do what I need to for them tonight. I can still remember way back when, when I went to the homecomings it was the best.

Married life after so long is so different from where we started in our apartment 16 years ago. Although everything was so new and exciting. We were so happy to be on our own and doing our own thing. And eight months into married life we were pregnant so that was a whirlwind in itself. But honestly it's so much better now. Not that it wasnt great then, it was.
But I didn't know then what I now know for sure....
~there's nothing better than having this person in my life that knows me better than anyone, better than my best friend, better than my parents.
~ that I am a better person for knowing him. What I thought was "not getting it" is really knowing what to give energy to and what to blow off...
~how to turn my "leadership qualities"(that's what my 5th grade teacher nicely called bossy) from a force to be reckoned with (although I still secretly still like to think of myself as such) into
something positive that works for me, helps people I love and makes me become the person Iwant to be
~nothing's more important than this family we've created...these people who sixteen years ago I hadn't met yet, who now are my main focus, who I work hard for and because of every day, who I fiercely love & protect and to whom I give everything they need and most of what they want.
~that everything I have is everything I need.

The past sixteen years have been, happy, exciting, full of love, not without really bad days, tough times, hungry years, unexpected joys, three roly poly babies, firsts...apartment, house, baby, day of school, yelling (mostly from me) but much much more laughs, a dog, a cat, another cat, unexpected friends, cherished friendships, inside family jokes, dinners at the table like it or not, mutual respect, traditions, mundane days and days I will never ever forget.

Not bad for a decade and a half....