Like this:

Today our marriage is one year and one day old.

We’ve done a lot, seen a lot, been through a lot.

The Wedding: the laughter, the party, the fun. The absolute terror of waiting before the walk down the aisle. I didn’t fully regain my appetite until about a week afterwards. I must’ve changed clothes about 5 times that day.

The Road Trip: the night in Savannah was great. It was pouring rain when we got there– we went to a pub on the waterfront. We dodged the rain and sloshed through the puddles. We walked the city the next day, stopping for photos, ducking in shops the get out of the heat.

When we left, Lauren left her purse at a McDonald’s on the road out and we didn’t realize it until South Carolina. Backtracked 400 miles that day.

The Mountains: I had to coax Lauren up to the fire tower. I think she only came up because she thought a bear was after us. The view from on top the mountain was worth it.

We white-water tubed in Deep Creek, got lost and found by some horsemen, and I was forever thinking that the key to the car would slip out of my shorts.

We met a cardinal named Rupert, who liked the back window. A lot.

I cooked the first steaks of my life (one of the acts of manliness), a little too done, but Lauren didn’t mind.

Moving Times: I don’t even know how we got all of our things in the world together in only a week or two.

Gainesville Days: our first little home. Lauren knows a lot more about what makes a home than I do, but we had some good practice. Cleaning together, cooking together, and enjoying life. I loved washing dishes to Irish radio.

Springtime: I always liked spring semesters better than the fall. It took a lot to weather out the cold winter in Gainesville, but a warm Christmas at home with family helped. We had our balcony garden, and Lauren was nannying again for Baby Audrey. I was just trying to find time between school and SNAP to find a job.

Graduation: I remember the blister Lauren got on her toe trying to follow me as I swished furiously toward the O’Dome on Graduation Day. I felt like Snape in those billowing black robes. I put an argyle orange-and-blue napkin on my cap. So they’d pick me out in the crowd.

Now: We’re home again. Well, sorta. Living with the Lears and the six dogs, working at CNP, teaching 4th grade in the fall, and wondering what the future will hold.

It’s amazing what all can happen in a year. I look forward to writing about the next one.  So the First Year Project continues…

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