8

Today we picked up "A Book of Eight" for Sam. It's a small, counting boardbook, which he likes primarily for the pictures.

It's also our eighth wedding anniversary. I was always a big fan of the number eight. I think I liked the symmetry of the number--two circles placed on top of each other. Eight is like the model train tracks we had as a kid. Eight never ends, it just keeps circling. I also remember looking forward to vague promises from parents attached to being eight (I could have a pocket knife and start karate lessons at eight, which sounded pretty adult to a six year old). Sam was born in 2008.

Now we've been married since 2001. There have been leaner and fatter years (figuratively and literally). We've travelled to Paris and Geneva, Taipei and Hong Kong. We've lived mostly in NJ, and I now consider this my "home state," although I'm not that particularly loyal. Three more degrees in those eight years. At least a dozen jobs collectively, probably more. 75,000 miles on the Saturn, and probably another 10,000 on the car before that. Reams of paper. One large, much-loved cat, and one baby so new that he's still under warranty. Four departed grandparents. Two nieces (well, one was born just before we married). Innumerable computers. Much laughter.

It was a quiet day today. We went out to lunch at an Indian restaurant--alone!--as the grandparents babysat. (Sam went to the pool for the first time, practiced his marching, and worked on dribbling a whiffle ball.) We did some lite shopping and hung out together. I took a nap. It was like lazy summers past, when it was just the two of us.

It was a good day to remember a challenging year. After being dandelion seeds this year, we're looking forward to landing and putting down deep roots. I'm looking forward to a place, and friends, and babysitters and daycare. And: a congregation we love, diligent students, great public transportation, excellent medical care. We're hopeful about language study and jobs and dissertation and all the other things that have made up our life.

This eighth year was a good one, but it really pushed us. I'm hopeful about number nine.