The Seven Year Itch

Today marks the seventh year of our wedded bliss. We were pondering what it was we were doing 7 years ago today and as the details come into focus, I shudder to think how on earch we could have withstood the stress of it all. We would have had to get up the morning after our wedding night and drive home to open gifts and money cards and host a small gathering of family. I remember sitting out on the front lawn with Laura opening all of the cards and pretending to read them when really we were just counting cash. Then we would have had the rest of the day to decide how on earth we would get all of those gifts put away--I know, it makes you anxious just thinking about it doesn't it? But the kicker was that we had to pack for Hawaii. Our busy busy life was only about to get busier as we had to make a last minute Target run before the big trip. How we handled all of that in 3 days is beyond me. Good thing we had a 10 day vacation in Hawaii to ease the effects of all of that hard work.

I believe it's safe to say that I know now why people I used to work with would give me "that look" when I said that Matt and I were either a) busy or b) tired. It's that look of "you don't know what the hey you are talking about because #1 you have never been nor ever will be tired until you have spent 2 years with a colicky screaming baby who, when she does sleep, wakes up every .5 hours to suck the remainder of life right out of you...and if you think you're "busy" little miss thing, just wait until you have three or four kids and their dr. visits, play times, cry times, diaper changes, dishes....and I'll show you busy". You know the look. I do, I give it to people all of the time, as if it's their fault they have time to go sit and have a Starbucks outside with someone who won't require a diaper change and who can feed themselves.

So, we had a good laugh at the expense of our former selves, the ones who married each other, and we clinked our glasses at a nice little dinner courtesy of Auntie Laura and her kids who came to watch our kids so we could get out, and we toasted to at least another seven. On our way home we noted that on the positive side, along with the obvious things like cuteness and baby kisses, we've become extremely efficient when you consider that 7 years ago, on a Sunday like today, we might have slept in until noon whereas today, before noon we had changed 5 diapers, did 2 loads of laundry, painted Matt's bathroom a 3rd and final coat, and got 4 children and ourselves ready to take to a parade. I'm not great at simple math but I'd say it's an efficiency improvement of at least 70%.

If you're wondering, Matt got me a back scratcher (literally, it's a wooden one from Snyder Drug store--clever fella eh?) for the itch so I won't be going anywhere soon. I didn't get him a back scratcher but I happen to know that he's a) too busy and b) too tired so I'm not too worried.

Like I told you in the card, I love you seventy-seven billion ways to Sunday. Or something like that. Happy Anniversary.