Anniversary!

Kind of weird to have your wedding anniversary on Good Friday; we didn't go out or do anything particularly out of the ordinary but it was a beautiful day anyway. We hung around the house doing ordinary things - laundry, shopping, cooking, playing with the kids - and it was kind of idyllic in its own way.

(I also have very few pictures of the two of us so this lily - a lotus blossom? - will have to do.)

I remember one of our first conversations - perhaps the very first? I asked Terry what his favorite book was, one of those standard get-to-know-you questions, and when he said "The Lord of the Rings" I about fell off my chair. I was sitting in the kitchen of the MCC house in Yapacaní, Bolivia, while he made food (aha! Foreshadowing!). I think at that moment at some level I knew we were going to end up together (though I wasn't necessarily convinced that would be a good thing!) It

was about a year before we really fell in love; a year of many wonderful conversations, arguments, and rescues.

One thing I've always loved about Terry is his enthusiasm. Sure, he's cynical and skeptical and all that, but when he's for something, he's whole hog. I dated a guy once who would only (and even then only grudgingly) walk me half-way home. But when I told Terry I wanted a teddy bear for Christmas, he bought me four. 

bear #1 of 4

cuz I had to put the kids in somewhere...

So here we are, almost 20 years from the day we met (September 17, 1996), and 16 years from the day we got married. Pretty soon I will have known him half my life (I was only 23 when I went to pick up the new guy at the airport in Santa Cruz!). We've been parents for almost 8 years. So many adventures! New Zealand, South Africa, Central America, Albania, and now Colombia.

Thank you to this smart, generous, funny man for walking this road together with me. I love you.