9:44 a.m. - 16 August 2001
Happy Anniversary
Eight years ago today: I had been seeing Lee for about six weeks, and was head over heels. Yes, we were both working a lousy job at a grocery store, but we often had days off together that we'd spend just wandering around the mall(s) in the area, talking and holding hands and being incredibly mushy. We both knew I was leaving for college in less than a month, so we were determined to make the most of the time we had.
Seven years ago today: After a year in which we had briefly broken up, but gotten back together, I felt we could handle anything. Lee was working for a company that took people deep-sea fishing, so he had very long hours; I was still working for the grocery store, but in a slightly better position that meant I, too, had very long hours. I don't think either of us slept much that entire summer.
Six years ago today: Lee had just moved to Charleston to begin working on a master's degree. He had a tiny apartment on the peninsula that was great for just walking to/from downtown. I spent a lot of time in that apartment during the next year, and the road between Georgetown and Charleston became incredibly familiar. We talked about getting married and me moving into that apartment, but I knew it was way too small.
Five years ago today: Lee had just moved again, this time into a much larger apartment in North Charleston. He had a full-time job, and was going to classes for his degree at night. He had accompanied my family to my grandmother's 80th birthday party earlier in the summer, an experience that filled him with terror. We had set a date to get married, although he had not "officially" proposed and I was ringless. But we already knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.
Four years ago today: I stood at the front of the church my family had attended for the last seven years, and pledged my love to my best friend. It was hot as an oven outside (what did we expect for a late-morning wedding in August in SC?), but we were so wrapped up in everything that it was hard to notice. Until the photographer started taking family pictures, anyway. It was the first time all of my father's immediate family had been in one place in several years, and if I'm not mistaken, the last time to date. We left that afternoon for Beaufort, NC, and a bed and breakfast, where we stayed one night. Then we drove up the Outer Banks (and through the town in which we now live, actually) to Williamsburg, where we spent a couple days before heading to Washington, DC. We spent most of our honeymoon at the Smithsonian. Yes, we are big nerds, thank you very much.
Three years ago today: We were settling in to our new home in North Carolina; I was getting ready to start graduate school. We were positive we would be in one spot for a long time, since my degree would take at least six or seven years. I was excited about the program, although I wasn't entirely sure what it was I wanted to work on. Lee was still looking for a job with the many local hospitals, and getting more and more discouraged. The concert that would change both our lives was only a few months in the future.
Two years ago today: We had a very low-key sort of day. We were in marriage therapy, and I was seeing an individual therapist, but things were looking better than they had six months ago. I had left the graduate program and had just started my new job at the Law School. In many ways, we were still on eggshells, but overall, things were much better.
One year ago today: I was happily still at the Law School, generally enjoying the summer schedule of four ten-hour days. Lee was starting to become very disillusioned with his job, and had started compiling a list of all the hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia where he thought he might get a job. Little did we know we'd be moving twice in the next year.
Today: I woke up beside my best friend, the man I love, and we both said "Happy Anniversary." We've been married for four years now, and while there was a period where we weren't sure we were going to make it, we've come out stronger on the other side. We've packed up everything we owned and moved to a small town neither of us had either heard of, just because Lee got a job offer that he couldn't refuse, both begun new jobs, bought a house, and moved again. Since we've always said "House first, then babies," we're starting to think about having kids. I cannot imagine my life without him, even if he does leave his socks lying around everywhere.
Happy anniversary, honey. I love you.
