A lot can happen in nine years

My wife has already told everyone on Facebook that today is our anniversary. Nine years goes by fast. But a lot can happen in that span of time.

Yes, it was nine years ago today that we were married in an outdoor wedding at The Gray House, a small bed & breakfast in Starr, SC (outside Anderson - which is outside Greenville). The wedding itself was unusual, not many couples have their five children in the wedding. The bride's son gave her away, the groom's son was best-man. The bride's daughter was maid-of-honor and the groom's daughters were bridesmaids. It took two ministers to tie the knot and by some miracle, the candles didn't blow out until after we were pronounced man & wife.

Since then, four out of our five children have gotten married and started families of their own. Attending all of those weddings has worn us out. With one grandson and four granddaughters (all the girls born in a six month time period), we feel like our quiver is full, but of course there's always room for more. Our youngest is in college, he comes up when his laundry is able to stand on it's own.

We've shared a lot of joy and a lot of pain (we both had back surgery). We've both been back to school. Through it all, we've grown together. there's a saying that goes "that which does not kill me, makes me stronger." I'd add a part to the middle of that and say "that which does not kill me, or make me kill my spouse, makes us stronger."

So, with that, I'll say Happy Anniversary Nena. It's been a great nine years and I'm looking forward to the next nine. And then the next nine. And the next. And so forth. And so on.

Has it really been eight years?

Some of my frequent readers may remember that a year ago this time, I posted an entry (seen here) about my seventh anniversary. It turns out, this time of the year is pretty popular, Brian the Red should have celebrated their 33rd (if I can do the math right) anniversary about a week ago and Brooke her eleventh a couple of weeks ago based on comments they left last year. Happy anniversary to both of them.

Today, I want to thank my dear, sweet wife for making me happy for the last eight years (and the year we dated before that). In many ways it seems like just yesterday we met and went to a short lunch at Schlotzsky's (which sadly is no longer there). In other ways, it seems like time started on that day eight years ago.

There's too much to say (and way to sappy) to post it all here, but I can say that I love you more today than ever before. And as much as I've enjoyed the last eight years, I'm looking for the next eight and the next eight and the next. We laughed last night, that if we get to celebrate our 50th, we'll both be in our 90's. Doesn't seem like so bad a deal...

Savannah

This past weekend, my wife & I took a short trip to Savannah, a first for both of us. This was in celebration of our sixth anniversary.

Let me first say that I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world. How she puts up with me continues to be a mystery and the fact that she deigns to my level is still beyond my comprehension. But she doesn't consider it that at all and that's even more mysterious.

Savannah is a nice town to visit. At 60 feet above sea level (lower in places), I'm not sure I'd want to live there. There's lots of history, back to the revolutionary war, the Spanish-American war and the Civil War. We walked through a Colonial cemetery and read some of the tombstones. The first I saw was a woman who died after the birth of her 15th child. I think it was self-defense.

We strolled along the river, saw street performers and just enjoyed the first evening. On Saturday we went to a light house. It was nice, but looked like all the other light houses I've seen. I'm sure I'll see more in the years to come.

After the lighthouse and the lighthouse museum, we went downtown for another stroll. (I find that I stroll more now that I'm older). Saturday night we took in a riverboat cruise. It was nice and relaxing, but we couldn't see a lot. Sunday morning we took a carriage ride. Lots of historical information.

Savannah is smaller than I imagined. It would be hard to make a full week out of it, but it's a nice weekend get-away.