9 Years?

This summer we celebrated our 9th anniversary! We're almost in double digits now...almost an old married couple. :-)  We tried to take'r easy this year, since last year we sort of accidentally went a little large on spending on our anniversary and we really hope to go on a trip for our 10th. So this year we planned a simple date, movie and dinner. At the last minute Nate realized that he had committed us to something else and it was apparent that backing out wasn't a viable option. So we spent our anniversary date watching the final performance of a summer camp program for the arts, of which Nate and his school supported. There was little time for much else in the evening so we decided to check out the mermaid bar downtown. That's right, I said mermaid bar.

There's a big 'ol tank above the bar and real life girl dressed as a mermaid swimming along.It was kind of cool - way less cheesy than I thought it would be. We didn't even stay 5 minutes, we just wanted a peek. As I was watching her (along with 40 other people pointing and taking pictures with their iphones) I started to think of the kind of girl who would do that for a job.....and I wondered how much she got paid. She DID swim very gracefully.....like a mermaid I guess... and she smiled underwater nicely, coming up for air where we couldn't see...bouncing some sort of underwater ball slowly with one hand.  I mean, she obviously had received some sort of training. I'd like to think that she's a college student trying her best to pay for school....and she lands a sweet gig as a mermaid in the new Dive Bar downtown. She doesn't even have to talk to anyone or even get close to one of the dudes at the bar.  While I was standing there watching her, my first thought was"OMG that is such a ridiculous job! That poor girl." But then who am I to judge? I was a Magician's Assistant in college. The money was worth the ridiculousness. I wonder if the Dive Bar is hiring.........

I digress. This is supposed to be about our anniversary.

In honor of our 9th year anniversary in the midst of our busy, routine and commitment-filled lives at the moment, I'd like to make a list of the 9 routines I love most in our relationship:
*Working in the yard together. Right now we are smack dab in the middle of a slooow re-landscaping project!
*Getting hooked on a show together via Netflix. Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights....
*Church.  He goes in early to play basketball and brings Finn and Selah. We do a baby hand-off and I sing in choir while he juggles all 3 kids solo. What a guy.
*Dinner and dishes and bedtime. I cook, he helps clean and the getting the kids ready for bed has become a graceful dance between us.
*Saturday mornings. Waffles, newspaper, cartoons, long run, family hike or house project.
*Friend get-togethers. I love that we share such great couple-friends. I think it's probably rare.
*Our journal. We keep a journal together....we write when we have time. I love re-reading our entries to each other.
*Flow charts. Every major decision we make about moving or school or job becomes a flow chart. They've become like an historical artifact in our marriage now.
*School! A new routine for us is seeing Nate at work as I'm dropping off or picking up Finners. It's fun to grab a quick kiss from my hard-working man in the midst of it all.

Well here's to 9 years together. Happy Late Anniversary Nate. I love you.