Counting

November 14, 2012 was a big day for us, but it passed by quietly, unnoticed.  Just another Wednesday in a long line of Wednesdays.  Chris went to work and I unpacked boxes and washed clothes.  But, it was day 309;  a big day.  309 days of being together in the same place, in the same state, in the same country.  309 days of no 6-week training courses in Ohio, no weeks spent in a tent in Florida, no deployments to far away places.  309 days together.  The most we had managed to string together in our five and a half year marriage.

March 19th, 2013 was another big day for us, and it too slipped by without notice or fanfare.  But it was day 457; a big day.  457 days since Chris returned to our little island from his deployment to Afghanistan.  457 days of being in the same country, on the same continent.  457 nights of not worrying or wondering about all the what-ifs that creep in while laying in bed alone.  457 days since I started breathing again after seven long months.  457 days together.  The longest we had ever made it between deployments in our nearly six year marriage.  

Today, May 19, 2013, we are celebrating day 518!  We are also celebrating day 2,192.  2,192 days of friends and family, of friends-turned-family.  2,192 days of moves, new houses, and new jobs.  2,192 days of exploring a new cites, new countries together.  2,192 days since we stood in the front of a church and promised to love each other forever.  To stand by each other through everything life was about to throw our way.

"Here's to all the places we went.  And here's to all the places we'll go.  And here's to me, whispering again and again and again and again: I love you." - John Green