Happy Anniversary Baby!

Four years ago today I wore my fun, party style wedding dress and, in front of all of our family and friends, married my sweet, balding, storytelling best friend.  Sean and I still constantly talk about how amazing our wedding day was.  We also love to reminisce about our history and the events that brought us together (described in a previous post).  Part of the reason our story is so remarkable to me is because  there were so many moments in time when it almost didn't happen at all.  Like one of those you pick the ending books, there were a lot of possible, not so lovely, outcomes that were only nearly avoided.


I guess I believe in a form of destiny, the kind that is strongly influenced by free-will.  I think the universe gives us ample opportunities to reach our greatest potential and happiness but it is up to us to make the most of those opportunities.  Sean and I both also believe that the energy we put out is the energy that we get back.  If we focus on all of the ways we are blessed and believe that things will continue to work out for us, then the universe (or whatever you want to call it) will continue to provide.  Although I've always believed these things, I haven't always lived it.  Because of that, I think the universe probably got pretty sick of giving Sean and I opportunities to realize that we were suppose to be together.  


There are a couple of moments in the history of Sean and Bri that, looking back, are particularly ironic. One being the time about 9 years ago when Sean and I were having beers at Gritty's with a friend.  That friend and I were both single and were discussing whether or not we thought we had already met our future husband or wife.  The two of us were both open to the possibility that our life partner might already be in our lives.  Sean, on the other hand, was adamant that he had not yet met the woman of his dreams, which was pretty funny since Sean was in a long-term, serious relationship.  My friend and I started giving Sean a really hard time about being in a relationship that he was sure was going nowhere when Sean said, "I have a much better chance of marrying Bri than I do (insert old girlfriend- who I hope doesn't get her hands on this blog)."  If this was a work of fiction you would call this a serious case of foreshadowing but at the time I only thought it was evidence of Sean's stupidity (said in the nicest way).


My other favorite Sean quote from the "pre-marriage/kids/happily-ever-after" days took place several years later after another night  of some drinks with friends.  Sean and I had gone into town together but Sean wanted to stay out longer.  I was ready to go home but had drank too much to drive.  I called the guy I had been dating to pick me up.  When I told Sean how I was getting home he got pretty upset.  This was during the "will we or won't we be together" era in the saga of Sean and Bri.  I had made pretty clear that I wasn't going to sit around and wait for Sean to figure his stuff out and was actively pursuing other options.  The guy on his way to pick me up was the first person Sean actually felt threatened by.  So that night, sitting on the steps of the Children's Museum (a place where we now hold a family membership) Sean said in the most hopeless voice, "your wedding day is going to be the saddest day of my life." FYI- I still left with the other guy but it wasn't long after that when Sean finally made his move.  


Fortunately for both of us, Sean was right at Gritty's but wrong outside of the museum.  Our wedding day was amazing and most of the days since have been pretty awesome too.  I love being married and being a mom.  The last four years have easily been the best of my life.  Whenever I think about my partnership with Sean and the peace and love I have found with him, I am always reminded of this poster my dad had hanging in his home-office.  The poster was a long list of pieces of advice to have a happy life.  One of them went something like this, "Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 percent of all your happiness or misery."  I think I chose well and am rewarded for my good decision making every day in the form of cooked dinners, co-parenting, and lots of silliness and laughter.  Happy anniversary baby!  I love you.