Happy Anniversary, Us - Part IV

Four years ago today, I married my best friend.

When I wrote my second novel, Simply Sara, one of the themes that developed was the idea of home, and how home isn't necessarily a place.

What I've discovered in this past year is exactly how true that is.  Since our last anniversary, we've lived in Eugene, Portland, Memphis, and Richland.  At some point in the future (and goodness knows when) we'll move again, this time across town into our freshly-built house.

We've lived with family, we've lived far from family. But no matter where we are, my home is wherever Danny is.  As much as I miss my family, my friends, and the trappings of familiarity, I need Danny more.  No matter how unsettled our living situation is, as long as I'm with him, I can manage.

The thing is, no matter where we are, Danny's feet are still ticklish.  He still consumes large quantities of ice cream and Hot Tamales.  He still complains when his hair gets too long and it flops in his face.  He still opens my car door.  He still reaches for my hand when we walk together. He's still taller than me, even if I'm in five-inch heels. His smile still lights up his face (I know it's a cliché, but it's true). His hug is still the one that truly makes things better.  We still get each other.  Our "us-ness" remains the same, even if our location has shifted.

He's my home, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Anniversary, Us - Part III

Three years ago today, I married my best friend.

You'd think tickling his feet has gotten old by now, but it hasn't.

This year has been a wild ride. Danny worked overtime hours while completing a master's degree. I published and promoted one book while writing 92,000 of the most difficult words I've ever written.

Danny celebrated with me when my first book arrived, and a few days later, when a whole box of books followed. He made me laugh at the cover of the Large Print Edition, came to every book signing and event, helped set up and take down the books, poster, postcards, and punch bowl full of chocolates.

He was very, very angry when he read my worst book review. He beamed over my Publishers Weekly and Booklist reviews.

I got to go to Vermont with Danny and watch as he gained the respect of his classmates and professors during his masters residency. I pinned his masters hood in place, and saw him shake the dean's hand as he received his diploma.

I like the quiet moments best, though. Tea on Saturday mornings. Walks we take, hand in hand. Sitting on the couch, reading books with the windows open.

I like the funny bits that have become our own - the way grass makes us laugh, the way Danny eats cheese, the way I giggle over the phrase some say.

I like how Danny brings adventure into my life in ways I never thought would happen.

It hasn't been an easy year, but it's been a good one. I can't imagine what the next will hold.

Happy Anniversary, Us - Part II

Two years ago today, I married my best friend.

I loved being married for a year. I've loved being married for two years even more.

Part of me wonders if Danny and I will be able to read each other's minds by next year. We know each other so well, can read expressions and body language and tonality so well that telepathy can't be far behind.

But on the other hand, we still manage to surprise each other. At least, Danny still surprises me. He'll goof off to make me laugh and I'll think, where did that come from? Followed by, I hope he'll do that again...

I was at a gathering a few months ago, and found myself asked (rather inappropriately) if the honeymoon was over. I honestly didn't know what to say for a few moments. Clearly, we had returned from our post-wedding vacation, not taking the year-long break advised in the old testament (if only we herded sheep with our families, that might have worked).

So if it wasn't a logistical question, it had to be emotional. Do I still love my husband like crazy? Of course. Am I aware of his faults? Better yet, is he deeply aware of mine? Certainly. Of course. And we're still nuts about each other.

I think Hollywood and fiction writers (bless them all) would have us believe that love and romance is found in meet-cutes and grand gestures. What the film Up got so right was that the little moments, even the boring moments, are the ones that matter, the ones we remember.

The walks. The lazy mornings. Sitting on the couch just reading. Dancing in the living room and sorting laundry (not at the same time) - those moments make up a marriage.

I have loved teaching Sunday School with Danny, watching him play cars and tea party with our class. I've loved celebrating and struggling through the process of publishing together. I love the look on his face when I bring him a fizzy drink from the grocery store, and the way he still opens my car door. I love how pleased he is with himself when he successfully flips a pan full of hashbrowns with a flick of the wrist. I love how we read books together. I love that I got him hooked on oatmeal cookies.

I love that we're married to each other. It's nice.

Happy Anniversary, Us

A year ago today, I married my best friend.

A whole year has gone by - we've experienced the joy of moving in together, adjusting to a life routine, being introduced as "The Lodges." For Halloween, Danny was a contractor; I was a fairy (children's book to follow). We negotiated hiding places for Christmas presents and picking the right Valentine's Day card (for the first time EVER, I had a date on Valentine's). We've read through The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Howl's Moving Castle and The Belgariad.

We figured out what to do when the Mormons knocked on the door (it's happened twice now). That it's okay to rent an action flick and a chick flick and watch both together.

I love this man I married, for a lot of different reasons.

1. He can fix anything, from cars to microwaves to children's bubble toys.

2. He makes a terrific paper airplane.

3. He can flip omelets and hashbrowns like a short order cook.

4. He wants to know and understand everything about the world around him.
5. His feet are ticklish.

6. He lets me eat his ice cream and drink his drinks.

7. He watched Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and the Emperor's New Groove with me.

8. He reads everything I write and talks about it with me.

9. He plays guitar and sings from his heart.

10. Most importantly, he loves me when I really don't deserve it.

There are quite a lot of other reaons, and I'm fairly sure this blog doesn't alot me the memory to write them all.

We've had a wonderful year, and I can't wait for the next.