The BIG 10!

WARNING: There is really only 1 person in the world who will want to read this post. I figure with today's subscribers there is a one in six chance that you're him. I'll take that chance.

It is my 10 year wedding anniversary. I was 22 years old when I got engaged and 24 years old when I got married. My whole family thought we were out of our tree. I am the youngest of 7 children and will forever be "the baby." No one thought we were ready. Looking back, we weren't. We were both such freakin' babies. We didn't know nothin' about nothin'. We were broke. We postponed the wedding for a year because we bought a car.

The day we wed was nothing short of magnificent. The weather, the venue, the food, the love (sorry, but you shoulda stopped reading back at the warning). The sky was amazing, the air very warm but with that crisp edge of autumn. It was a perfect start.

It could have gone so wrong. When people get divorced you hear a lot of "we just grew apart." Back in 1996 we had just barely begun. Sad things happened to us. Sadness, extreme sadness, is a huge burden for a young couple. We learned to listen and talk even when we didn't want to. We learned to fight fair at least some of the time. We learned to accept apologies, and occasionally make them. We learned the business of being in love. When we got married we didn't know nothin' about nothin'. It could have gone so wrong. Change the balance a little, hold onto a grudge, shut yourself off and who knows where we would be standing now. We grew a whole heck of a lot. We didn't always grow closer, but we grew together.

It didn't go wrong. Most of our days have gone fantastically right. We have babies. 3 of them. They are strong and they are smart and they are very very funny. After 10 years we know some stuff. We want to know more stuff. We strive to do what we do better today than we did yesterday.

On our wedding day we danced to two songs. The first was the Beatles "I Will." Because we did.

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to--I will.

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
You know I will
I will.

We also danced to Aaron Neville's "You Never Can Tell." I am pretty sure that we thought if the grown up's heard the lyrics it would proove something about something.

It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell,
"c'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell

They furnished off an apartment with a two room roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with tv dinners and ginger ale,
But when pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well
"c'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell

They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rock, and rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
"c'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell

They bought a souped-up jitney, was a cherry red '53,
Drove down to new orleans to celebrate the anniversary
It was there where pierre was married to the lovely mademoiselle
"c'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell

They had a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell,
"c'est la vie", say the old folks, it go to show you never can tell

My dad, who I miss dearly every day, used to say "You never can tell from how you sit, when the man in the balcony's gonna spit." The thing is, we didn't know nothin' about nothin', yet here we sit, 10 years later, and madly in love. Madly. You just never can tell. But you hope. And you pray. And you work. And you yell. And you laugh loudly and often. And you love. You love a lot. Much moreso after 10 years of marriage (wink, wink).

People say their wedding day was the happiest day of their lives. Ours was pretty perfect. But this? This is amazing.

Thanks, Rob. For being on this quest with me. And for making our family better every day.

xoxoxo
-M