18 Years on the 18th

Eighteen years ago today, on June 18th, Orlando and I started dating.  We were both eighteen years old.  It was an awkwardly sweet occasion, as teenage romances are wont, and it was also one of the best days of my life. 

Yes, we wore lots of flannel back then.  Yes, we listened to angsty, Seattle grunge.  No, we could not have imagined that we would leave Miami for Pittsburgh, for New Haven, for Alabama.  No, we would never have predicted the beautiful children we would have, nor could we have known then, so, so young, that our mid-thirties would be so very amazing.

Oh, my Orlandito, how I love you and the life we've built.  May we look back on 2012 and laugh at our clothes, our misgivings, our assumptions.  May the next eighteen years be just as wonderful. Maybe more wonderful, if that's possible.

Happy anniversary, mi amor.