The First Decade

We used to walk 3.5 miles from Jefferson Junior High School to my house just to be together.  Back then, we really didn't go on a lot of dates as we were both still pretty young (14 and 15), and neither of us could drive yet.  The most we got to see each other was during passing time in the halls at school, exchanging notes and maybe a hug (I can't remember if we had taken the baby step towards hugging yet?), which normally occurred downstairs at Jefferson, me on my way to Home Ec. and Matt on his way to Science.  Granted, my very first note to him was given to him a friend because I was too chicken to give it to him myself, but I'm sure glad I wrote that first note.

That was nearly 17 years ago.

On December 18, 2014, we will be married 10 years.  A whole decade!  Many people would shake their heads in amazement, thinking to themselves or out loud, "Where did the time go?"  Not me.  I know exactly where it went.

It "began" inside the temple as we vowed before family and God to love each other for the rest of forever.  From there, many hours have passed vacationing up and down the Oregon Coast, even down into the big trees of California and up into Washington.

Even more time has been spent pouring over books, studying, writing, learning as we paved the way to getting our college degrees.

Countless moments have been spent together on road trips, laughing, joking, singing  along to our favorite music (each of us relenting to the other's choice of artists, as Metallica wouldn't be my first choice, nor would Jewel be Matt's).

Many dates were spent wandering the aisles of Barnes and Noble, especially in the early days when there wasn't money to do much more.  We could spend hours there, looking over book titles, piling books into our arms we hoped to purchase, then putting all but one or two back because we couldn't afford the $200 bill it would come to.

Too little time was spent overseas, taking a group of high school kids to France and Spain for a week and a half.  Though the trip was short, for me it was the trip of a lifetime as I had never been out of the country, and there was no one else in the whole world I wanted to share that experience with.  Even though we were busy with many teenagers and ran ourselves ragged across a small section of Europe, we still found time just the two of us to enjoy the wonders of a foreign country together.  I certainly hope to do this again as time passes.

Two and a half years passed in a tiny apartment on Poplar Street, crammed together as newlyweds, trying to figure out how to survive those first few years together with too little space and too little money.

Yet another year was spent in a small 3-bedroom house on Teton, where we grew our love and learned we  were expecting our first child, a daughter, to be born during the winter of 2008.

Several weeks were spent house hunting, looking for that perfect home to call our own and raise a family.  Though we walked through many houses, I knew as soon as I entered the great space on Kipling that we would make that our home.  So far, six years have been spent doing just that.

Eight days were spent at the local hospital, bringing new life into this world as we welcomed our three beautiful children into our lives through tears and open arms.

Ninety-one hours were spent crammed together in our Nissan Altima, making the trek together for the very first time down to Texas, with many spots along the way.  We passed through Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. It was a looooong trip, but well worth it and one of the best trips I've ever been on.

More hours have passed happily celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs, degrees, good news, and just because.

And the rest of the time?  Well, those quiet moments are reserved just for us, no one else.  The moments sitting in our room, reading a novel and holding hands.  Watching a movie cuddling on the couch.  Making dinner together in the kitchen. Whispered conversations so to not wake our sleeping children.  Just letting moments pass together where nothing particularly special is happening, except that we are within arm's reach of each other, right where we want to be.  Kisses.  Hugs.  Slow-dancing to a song.  A smile, a laugh.  A quick glance to the other to share some unspoken words.  Time saying I'm sorry.  Time saying I love you.  Time saying I forgive you, and there's no one else in the world I'd rather be with.

These are the moments that make up a decade.

Happy 10 year Anniversary to the love of my life.  Let's shoot for another 100.