On Life and Marriage

I once had someone tell me that even at the seven year mark of her marriage, she sometimes looked at her husband and wondered who he was. It was very weird to hear that spoken aloud. I always assumed that by the time two people were married, they knew nearly everything about each other, so after seven years of living together and raising children together, there would never be a moment like this.

Now that I'm a little older and have been with Amanda for over a year and a half, I understand a little better. I love Amanda dearly. At this point, we seldom run into "what were you thinking?" moments. There are many days when I feel so close to her and it feels like we've been with each other for a lifetime.

But then there are also isolated moments when the opposite happens. I looked up from a game of Monopoly we were playing on our iPads, and for a brief instant, it seemed incredibly strange that I was less than six months away from marrying this cute woman on the couch. It happened earlier today, too, when we were on a walk and talking about whether we'd get our bank accounts joined once we're married. I know marriage won't change day-to-day things between us -- we'll still go for walks, still sit together to watch tv shows on Netflix, and still play games together. But in that moment, it felt like *everything* would change the moment she puts a ring on my finger on our wedding day. It was a weird moment. It was a moment that made me consciously aware that I'm not a kid anymore.

But then I saw the sun shine on her hair, and the smile on her face, and things were normal again. I was walking next to Amanda, the woman I love so much and will be marrying in five months. And all was right with the world! :-)

I'm a little scruffy in today's photo. I cut myself shaving badly on Friday and am letting it heal entirely before I pass a razor over that section again. The alternative was me growing a soul patch, and that is something nobody wants.