It’s our anniversary this Wednesday… 9 years! That doesn’t sound like a
long time, but we’ve been through a lot. Jerry’s dad had leukemia and
BEAT IT! My dad is working on his leukemia victory as well. Kick it to
the curb, Dad! We bought a house and filled it with a cat and 3
wonderful children. Jerry has been a financial planner and a teacher
and earned his Masters degree in administration. I have been a resource
teacher, a 2nd grade and kindergarten teacher (not at the same time), a
preschool gymnastics instructor, and a parent educator. Most
importantly, we’ve earned the titles “Mom” and “Dad”. We’ve become
“Aunt Cathy” and “Uncle Jerry” to 6 nephews and 1 niece, and we have 1
nephew and 1 niece OR nephew on the way!
Times sure have changed! When we got married, flip phones, and the
fact that you could keep your cell number when switching between
providers were all the rage. Now we have smart phones and have given up
our house phone completely. Our weekends used to consist of meeting
some friends out for drinks on the Plaza or going to a wedding. Now we
mostly go to children’s birthday parties or plan baby showers. When we
got married, I colored my hair to cover my hardly-noticeable gray hair
at a salon and had fancy highlights just ‘cause. Now I color my hair so
that I don’t look like the evil, aging mom-ish lady on Tangled and
scare the crap out of my daughters - and I use a box, because I don’t
have time, and it’s cheap. When we got married, Jerry had hair. ‘Nuf
said. Back in 2002, we didn’t have to worry about home improvement,
lawn care, or “resale value” because we lived in an apartment. Now we
have a mortgage, and MUCH more responsibility. We used to go to movies
every weekend - sometimes twice. Now we relax on the couch with some
wine (ok, that’s mostly for me) and watch a movie or a show on Netflix
(because we got rid of cable, too).
Yes - life is very different for us now. And I wouldn’t change a
thing. The most important difference? I’m more in love with Jerry now
than I ever could have imagined when we first got married. Happy 9th
anniversary, honey!