Fifteen years

Saturday was one of those crazy, running-around, juggle the schedule sort of days. We had already planned a trip into Capital City to spend some time with the grandparents and take Scooter to gymnastics before heading out to one of the city's nice restaurants to celebrate our anniversary (not on our anniversary, but handily combined with a day we knew we'd be down there).

Then on Friday night, I found out (via an email that also confirmed that I have a place to take my exams now) that Big City University (in the city past Capital City) was having a one-and-a-half-day conference on an author who is on my comps list. I found out too late to make it to the introductory session Friday night, but figured out that I could attend all but one of the talks the next day and make it back to my in-laws' in time to change and head out to the restaurant. Trillian would be able to borrow a vehicle from her parents to get Scooter to gymnastics (which he loved again this week).

Since Big City is that much further from our house, we all had to get up and moving much earlier than we normally would on a Saturday. I dropped Trillian and Scooter off at the in-laws', hung our nice clothes up in the back bedroom, and headed back out.

I made good time to campus and found it pretty easily, giving myself plenty of time to find parking and figure out a section of the campus. While I didn't have the opportunity to schmooze that I'd hoped for (no name tags!), the talks themselves were very interesting and, if nothing else, have given me two or three interesting things I will be able to slip into my exam.

The last talk I could attend ended a few minutes earlier, so I headed quickly back to the car and made it to the in-laws' in good time. A little relaxing and a change into our dinner clothes--Trillian's mother insisted on taking a picture--and then to the restaurant.

The entire meal was delicious and pleasant. I didn't have to compromise in my quest to avoid gluten and had the best salmon fillet I've eaten in years. They even had a flourless chocolate torte on the dessert menu. After a bit of a walk, we went past our favorite chocolate shop and bought a couple of elixirs.

Scooter was still awake when we got back to the house, but he fell asleep hard in the car, so hard that he barely woke up when I slid him into bed and changed him into his pjs. (Something about moments like this make parenting so satisfying.)

So many things in our life look different than they did fifteen years ago. We were both undergraduate students when we met, living very much as students do. Our relationship has endured distance, financial uncertainty, health scares and lows, and the challenges of parenting. Trillian is, hands down, my best friend. I am so lucky to have had these fifteen years and am looking forward to the next fifteen and more.