14 Years and Counting.

There are so many treasures just waiting to be found in my old CD cases, especially because I haven't touched them in the better part of a decade. I guess I should thank my new car (and it's six-disc changer) for jump-starting my interest in these relics, especially now that Alexa has officially hijacked my iPod for her nightly tunes. She can't sleep without them, so I can never ever take my iPod to work because her bedtime is so freaking early. Not that I'm complaining about this ... I just miss my 5,000+ songs.

Anyway, I found a gem today. It was a plain white CD with the words "Mixed #1" on it. From the sounds of it I'm guessing it was made in 2003, which is a strange nostalgia coming on the day of our 14th anniversary.

In 2003 we had been married for five years, which I'm sure is four years longer than anyone expected this young couple to last. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Myrtle Beach. H was in college. I was at my first newspaper job. We were complete night owls. He would be studying or doing homework on our bed while I did things like make this mix CD on the computer.

Late-night walks on the beach were standard, as was starting a movie at 1 a.m. I slept until 11 in the morning most days, sometimes noon or later if I had been out with colleagues after work the night before. We would go boogie-boarding on a whim, sometimes heading out as late as noon even on days I had to work at 3 p.m.

Now we live in a two-bedroom townhouse with a 16-month-old in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. H and I are both working professional jobs with quasi-respectable business hours. We are passed out by 11 p.m. Our evenings are spent blogging (me) or playing "Call of Duty" (him) in the comfort of our living room.

Early mornings are the standard, what with H leaving for work at the crack of dawn and me waking up shortly after to tend to Alexa. A fun day is still a beach day, only there is no spontaneity left. It takes an hour to pack everything we need, and still we forget some things. We are the family that lugs a tent, a cooler and a change of clothes for every situation. When we retire for the night there is a palpable sigh of exhaustion, but it's a good exhaustion.

I'm so glad we had the chance to experience both of these realities, that we took our time to start a family and that we enjoyed our 20s with a carefree air. I'm so happy I said "I do" to this man who continues to make me laugh day after day and who loves me unconditionally. I'm so lucky to have found my soulmate so early in life, to be able to grow and change with him. I love you, honey.

And, for the rest of you, I present a playlist from 2003: