Nine Years!

Today Damon and I celebrated our nine year wedding anniversary, and, in true Connie and Damon fashion, we spent it apart, as Damon's in Orlando for business.  I think this marks the second or third consecutive year we have not been able to celebrate together on our actual anniversary.  However, I was very busy this afternoon and evening, shuttling Alexa to and from gymnastics, participating in conference calls and getting everything ready for an early morning drop-off tomorrow (conference call at 7:30am).  Damon and I will plan a date night when he returns so we can properly celebrate the occasion.

During the past year, Alexa has becoming seemingly more interested in our wedding, likely because it's as close to a Disney Princess fairy tale as she can get right now.  It's been fun to pull out some of the items to which I have paid little attention in the past nine years.  Alexa is enthralled by my wedding dress that is preserved in a display box; she has been begging me to let her use it for dress-up.  Needless to say, I have ix-nayed that request and told her she can't wear it until she gets married (at age forty if Damon has anything to do with it).  I did cave on letting her play with some of the extra wedding favors - Armenian Demitasse Coffee Cups - and we've had some very elegant tea parties with these cups.

Without a doubt, my favorite thing has been paging through our wedding album with Alexa.  She loves to ooh and ahh over the photojournalistic pictures of my dress, the decor, the church....but she also loves to look at the pictures of so many people she recognizes, just a bit younger than how she knows them today.  It elicits mixed emotions to see the pictures and realize how many important people we have lost in the past nine years, including three grandmothers, a grandfather, an uncle.  During the past nine years, we have unfortunately learned all-too-well how short life is, but most importantly, we have learned to make the best of the time we have.

We are planning a more traditional celebration (together!) for our tenth anniversary next year - - a long-overdue kid-free vacation is likely in the works!  A perfect way to make the best of the time we have together :)

April 9, 2005....we look so young!