9 years and counting

Today is my and Jackie’s 9 year anniversary.

It’s funny how things work out. Around when we got married, we had this vague plan to move away from Southern California, to try living other places, to travel a bit and see the world before we really settled down to have kids.

After a year or so it was pretty obvious we weren’t going to do it anytime soon, and we didn’t want to wait forever to have kids, so we had Kayla. Talk about turning our world upside down. Suddenly owning a house became critically important, even if it meant moving well away from work. Suddenly, even though we planned for Jackie to go back to work, we were going to have to get by on just my salary.

Suddenly we were responsible for a child. For a human being. The day Kayla was born, when I went down to the cafeteria alone to get a bite to eat, I cried at how overwhelming it all was.

Somehow, we’ve pulled it off so far. Bought a house 6 months after Kayla was born. 9 months after that we decided she shouldn’t grow up alone, and 9 months after that Colin showed up. The kids are 7 and 5 now, Jackie hasn’t had to go back to work, and we’re still making it. It’s been hard, and continues to be hard, but we’re making it.

Most important: we’re happy.

9 years and counting. We make a pretty good team, Jackie. I love you.

Here’s to many, many more.