We are three!

Author's note: Apparently this got lost in my blog files. But even more than one year later, it is still accurate. 

August 11, 2016
Dear Caleb,

Last night, I dreamed that my mom was becoming a police officer and that you and I were taking a second honeymoon. But I already told you that.

What I didn't tell you, but you probably felt the ramifications of since I hugged you like eighty bajillion times this morning, is that I stayed awake for a long while thinking about you and about love and marriage. 

I thought about how we have lived in a new place every year since getting married - three in total - and about how this year we aren't planning to move anywhere. I say "aren't planning" because we weren't planning to move anywhere last year either, but you just never know. 

I think it's pretty special, because looking back on it now, I remember our first place on Jackson and how new marriage was to us and how new life together was. How I didn't really want to see very many people that year except for you. How we both changed jobs, me twice. It was a special time. Remember when we used to sit around and listen to the Hobbit on tape, because we didn't have internet or TV or smartphones? I remember at the end of that time, I really wanted a room with a door besides the bathroom. It was hard in some ways, but I remember feeling so in love with you, and so thankful for you when you comforted me about the mice. So. many. mice.

And our second place, in Rosedale. It seemed like the cleanest and most beautiful home in the whole world. Everything was finished, and there was carpet and the washer was in the kitchen, and you had a garage to tinker in!  It was the perfect size for us, with two rooms with doors besides the bathroom. It was close to everything and so cozy. 

Then last year we bought the house where we live now. Our neighborhood is a blend of re-done and run-down, but still very live-able, houses. Nobody cares if you don't mow your lawn, or if you have a rooster, or get your mail in your underwear. I like it. We have lots of ideas for improving our house, but time is tight, and money is tight because of our plan to get out of debt. One thing that has defined this year is that Ralph lived with us for most of it. And we got our lil chickens, who have been a source of great delight. 

And as I laid in bed and thought about these things, I thought about how people say that you think you couldn't possibly love each other more than you do on the day when you get married. But somehow over the years, through the daily routines and waking each other up, and reminding the other person that you are out of milk or peanut butter, your heart grows and grows. And even though there are tense times or times when one or both of us is stressed, I love you so much more than I ever have before.