I’m a big milestone person, always have been. Maybe it’s my fascination with numbers, maybe it’s my love of tradition and the nostalgia of it all. Maybe it’s all of the above. For me, September is a month filled with them and this year there are a couple big ones worth celebrating.

On Friday, Greg & I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary! I am excited, it’s a big deal. I know most of our friends are coming up on 20 years in their marriages, but sometimes it’s still hard to believe we actually made it here. A legally binding contract, 5 years in, many more to go. I am happy, it feels right, finally.

The other big milestone this September is 30 years since our first dance (and kiss)! It was at a high school dance on September 22, 1984. Yup, he was a senior and captain of the football team, I was a junior and Amy Howe’s little sister. I realized right then we needed to get to know each other better. I always knew of him, we were always “around” each other, and he was the cutest kid in my sister’s class since kindergarten. We didn’t officially start dating until that November (when football season ended, of course), but that’s when it all began.

Over the next 10 years, there were a lot of ups and downs. We grew up and life taught us things don’t always work out the way you planned. Luckily, we were able to reconnect many years later, put the past behind us, and rekindle the feeling of that first dance. Sure, I am sad we didn’t have all 30 years together, but I wouldn’t trade what we have today. Sometimes I think our “broken road” makes us appreciate each other more. That first kiss started something that wasn’t meant to end and that’s a milestone worth celebrating.

At Last – Our Wedding Sept. 12, 2009