Twenty Years

We have dated off and on since we were thirteen - as you can see in the photo from our high school yearbook, we were voted class sweethearts. Lori says that the first time she noticed me was in 7th grade English class, shortly after I had moved to Epping. I was doodling, seemingly not paying any attention, and the teacher called on me hoping to catch me unprepared. But I answered without hesitation, and Lori claims she was smitten. Eleven years later we were married. She's a very patient girl.

Lori has been by my side in everything I've ever done. Before we moved to Texas, she was my constant hiking companion. She always complained on the long climbs, but her bubbling joy and enthusiasm once we reached the top was worth dragging her up there. We're both looking forward to the kids getting big enough for us to pick the hobby back up in a more serious way.

When I got offered a job in Texas, she was completely supportive of the prospect - and never once made me feel guilty about asking her to move 2000 miles from where she grew up. Living away from everyone really made us realize how well we fit together, because we had no one else to rely on - and it only made our relationship stronger.

Over time, or little family of two grew. First their was Paige. We adopted her from a shelter out by the San Antonio airport, and it was love at first sight. Then Sadie joined us, and enriched our lives that much more. Until the kids came, the dogs slept in the bed with us, and it made our house feel less like a building and more like a home.

And then one day we heard that Tracy was pregnant. That's when we said to ourselves "what are we waiting for?" We had been putting off having children, waiting until we were "ready". But the truth is that you are never really "ready" to be a parent for the first time. And when Sean came, it was everything that we hoped and feared that it would be. People tell you that having kids changes everything, but what they don't say is that it changes everything for the better.

A year and a half later, we were finally starting to get into a normal routine and our life was settling down again. So we said, "let's have another!" As the ancient Chinese proverb says - "may you live in interesting times". And nothing breaks up the monotony in a household like an infant.

As the kids have grown, our lives have just been more and more fun, interesting, and challenging. It's just so amazing to me that the whole arc of my life started twenty years ago, in a small classroom in a small town, from the shy, sidelong glances shared by a geeky little boy and a sweet, pretty girl.

* for the sake of this post, please ignore anything negative I've ever posted here about the children and assume that they are lovely, cooperative little angels.