4 years ago today

4 years ago I married Jamie Lynn. I could use many adjectives to describe Jamie but most sound cliche and none really do her justice. To say she's the best thing that's ever happened to me (see what I mean about the cliches?) is an understatement.

We're spending the day in a great bed & breakfast in Duluth. We were married at Cove Point Lodge just north of here in Beaver Bay. Our reception was just down the street from where we're staying at Black Woods Grill.

I'd planned this anniversary trip a month and a half ago. I arranged for my mother-in-law and some friends to watch the kids for 2 nights. I rescheduled an appointment Jamie had made at a spa to use a gift certificate I got her for her birthday in September. (Note: if you give Jamie a gift certificate, she will wait as long as possible to use it. She says she has to savor it.) I scheduled that appointment for yesterday afternoon and planned to surprise her by showing up at home for lunch, taking her to the spa, then whisking her away to Duluth.

The surprise stayed intact, but the circumstances certainly weren't what I had imagined. I told her about the spa between tears after our meeting with the genetic counselor at the hospital yesterday. It was 12:40. The spa appointment was for 1:00 and we were 25 minutes away and still not out of the hospital. I thought it would still be good for her to be pampered and convinced her to go.

We cried for most of the 25-minute drive to the spa. She made it in a half hour late and the pampering began. When she got home I told her about the trip to Duluth and after getting over her initial surprise, she got excited.

It's a good thing we were alone on that 3-hour drive. We'd cry for 15 minutes and then laugh for the next 15. It would have driven an unsuspecting passenger crazy. Sometimes it drove us crazy.

I know none of this really has anything to do with our anniversary or our wedding day, but it's the circumstances in which we're celebrating. And we are celebrating! We have a lot to celebrate.

And for now, we have a little girl to celebrate with. She's still kicking, reminding us she's with us and is having a blast! So we're going to show her around Duluth. We're sure she's gonna love it!

Oh, I know it's not necessarily a girl for sure, but it seems likely that it is. We should know for sure this afternoon. Last night we decided on a girl's first and middle name. We decided on her favorite color. But those things will remain a secret until we have final confirmation that she's a girl.

I'm realizing that my anniversary post is mostly about my child. I suppose that's natural right now. But really, I feel so much closer to my wife today than I did 48 hours ago. Maybe that's why this little child is here. Maybe this child is serving to bring the rest of us closer together through its brief life.

If that's this child's purpose, I think that's a life lived to the fullest. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Happy anniversary Jamie. I love you more today than yesterday (or 4 years ago).