Anniversary
Well, then. On Friday Neil and I celebrated ten years of marriage together. How amazing is that?
Ten. Years.
Man, we feel old.
I mean, 1998 isn't that long ago, right? It's like, really close to 2000. Which was practically yesterday. I mean, it's only 2008. Which is... eight years after 2000.
Shit.
1998 is as far away from now as 1988 was from 1998. And I guess 1998 was really that far away. Back then Neil and I were a mere 24 years old, fresh-ish out of college, about to embark on life as adults in the Real World. Weeks after the wedding I started my first proper career job in Philly, and after he got his green card sorted out he started a job that he stuck with all the way through law school. We bought a house two years later. We both went to lots of grad school, and between us finished three degrees (with another on the way). We made new friends, visited old friends, saw family get married and move nearby, then away again. Saw my parents finally divorce, and saw his parents' new marriages grow. We grew a miraculous, amazing kid, and are still blown away by her every day.
And what's awesome about the whole journey is that we have become a richer Andi and Neil, more like our true selves, throughout it all. And of course, we are bonded by the experiences we share together day in and day out. We are changing, and yet we are still us, and still deeply in love with what brought us together in the first place and what keeps us together today.
When we got married, I was convinced God brought us together and would keep us together. But now I don't feel God (whatever God is) has as much a hand in this as I thought s/he would. We keep us together, because we are authentic with each other and demand nothing less. We have seen our parents' first marriages fail, and today we see friends' marriages fail. We know we cannot take each other for granted, we know we must work and compromise with each other because we respect each other that much. When we married, I feared the future and not being able to know with absolute certainty that "we" would work out. And dear Neil reassured me, saying, "All you can do is give it your best every day. And those days will add up to years, and it'll work out."
So the days have added up, and here we are. Grateful and amazed and very happy.
I love you, my dearest one. Happy anniversary.
Ten. Years.
Man, we feel old.
I mean, 1998 isn't that long ago, right? It's like, really close to 2000. Which was practically yesterday. I mean, it's only 2008. Which is... eight years after 2000.
Shit.
1998 is as far away from now as 1988 was from 1998. And I guess 1998 was really that far away. Back then Neil and I were a mere 24 years old, fresh-ish out of college, about to embark on life as adults in the Real World. Weeks after the wedding I started my first proper career job in Philly, and after he got his green card sorted out he started a job that he stuck with all the way through law school. We bought a house two years later. We both went to lots of grad school, and between us finished three degrees (with another on the way). We made new friends, visited old friends, saw family get married and move nearby, then away again. Saw my parents finally divorce, and saw his parents' new marriages grow. We grew a miraculous, amazing kid, and are still blown away by her every day.
And what's awesome about the whole journey is that we have become a richer Andi and Neil, more like our true selves, throughout it all. And of course, we are bonded by the experiences we share together day in and day out. We are changing, and yet we are still us, and still deeply in love with what brought us together in the first place and what keeps us together today.
When we got married, I was convinced God brought us together and would keep us together. But now I don't feel God (whatever God is) has as much a hand in this as I thought s/he would. We keep us together, because we are authentic with each other and demand nothing less. We have seen our parents' first marriages fail, and today we see friends' marriages fail. We know we cannot take each other for granted, we know we must work and compromise with each other because we respect each other that much. When we married, I feared the future and not being able to know with absolute certainty that "we" would work out. And dear Neil reassured me, saying, "All you can do is give it your best every day. And those days will add up to years, and it'll work out."
So the days have added up, and here we are. Grateful and amazed and very happy.
I love you, my dearest one. Happy anniversary.