Five years and a car?
Last week (August 5, actually) Julie and I celebrated our fifth wedding
anniversary. This provides a good opportunity to reflect back on recent
and maybe not-so-recent times. Way back in '99 I was living in a
trailer in Chelsea which Julie always makes sure to point out did not
have a door on the bathroom. I was working a number of part-time gigs,
none of which had long-term career prospects. I wasn't exactly living
the healthiest lifestyle, and suffered a few setbacks personally, so I
knew I had to get somewhere, preferably soon.
I knew Julie through a mutual friend, and pursued her with some gusto.
She put up with my faults, and I guess saw some potential in me. Well,
time moved on. We were living together in Waterbury by 2000, married in
2001, and bought our house here in Calais in 2002. Time kept moving
on. I was in a good gig at UVM, where I still am and plan to be for
quite awhile. We had a baby this past December, our wonderful little
Alice. And then the next thing you know we've been married five years,
Alice is crawling. Four years in this house and I still get the light
switches mixed up. Life is good, no great. We're settled, and I would
say solidly middle class. We pay our bills, and when something comes up,
we can afford to deal with it. I think of the many out there in worse
circumstances and am thankful for everything we have. Too many out there
are getting by with so much less opportunity. For our 5th anniversary we
bought a new car, a 2006 Honda Element. Not quite a minivan, but it
wouldn't look bad with a 'baby on board' sign in the window.
I guess it just struck me how life can move by so fast, right in front
of your eyes. I know it will only do so more as we watch Alice grow.
She's an amazing little creature, and a real personality now. Live
life. Have your dreams but enjoy what you've got while you're in it.
And be nice to others.
That's my lesson for today....
TB
