babble: 8 anniversaries

Yesterday, the 9th day of August in the year 2011, we celebrated 8 years of marriage. 

Yes, that's right. 8 years. 

Not old enough to drink, barely old enough to vote but wise enough to chose each other.   

Each year we celebrate our life together in odd ways - camping in wine country (i.e. no showering and sharing your small sleeping bag with your dog), walking 18 miles each day around San Francisco (forgetting walking shoes and buying a new cute pair of shoes, for "walking" aka looking awesome), working (like this year) and celebrating the Saturday before with hoarded wine from previous camping trips and purchasing a live lobster, which totally creeped me out. We've gone out for a fancy dinner once or twice, but honestly, I love the way we celebrate each year whether it be camping or watching Star Trek till we fall asleep.

People often ask me about marriage and relationships and dating... like I'm intelligent and insightful or something. And even if they don't come right out and ask me questions, we usually fall on the subject somehow. I think its because the way I'm looking at my then new husband in our wedding pictures pictures is the way I look at him now, the sparkle in my eye is there even when I'm just talking about him. I have spent this entire week so full of thankfulness and sheer happiness and ... peace. More of all of those than usual. 

This years anniversary isn't kinda ironic like the 5th when we realized we were halfway to 10 - sarcastic wow - or year 1 when you realize for the first time that you've gotten yourself married - dramatic gasp. It was comfortable and fun and just...          right.

So, if you were to ask me the key, the answer, the honest-to-goodness holy grail of how to have a great marriage, 

I couldn't tell you what that is.

One of those things. All of those things...

And maybe I'd say, 

"choose wisely, for while the true grail will bring you life, the false grail will take it from you."

I don't use Indiana Jones quotes as my daily devotional or anything, but there is some wisdom to it - walk with me here.

You know that the people you spend time with leave a mark on you - good, bad or otherwise. So why would you date, court and marry someone who doesn't leave you better than you were without them? 

So what if they are really ridiculously good looking? So what if they tell you sweet nothings that make you feel amazing when they are near but fade the moment they leave? So what if they neither build you up or break you down but just let you be? 

Choose wisely. Only be with that person who brings you life. 

8 years. 

And that's just the married part. 

High school sweethearts who can't remember when they started dating but it was somewhere around junior year. 

And lucky me, he's really ridiculously good looking. 

I can't say enough about how much my husband has given me through all our million years together. I love him. I just do. 

-L