Eight

8 is my hubster's family's lucky number.

My parents-in-law were married on the 8th of a month. The hubster birth date is an 8. Several of his 8 siblings also have birth dates that have an 8 in it.

Today, we're celebrating two special 8s.

8 weeks ago the hubster had open heart surgery. 8 weeks and he's doing fabulous. Healthier, stronger and things are looking great for his continued good health.

The hubster and I are also celebrating our 8th anniversary today!

We lived together for I'm-embarrassed-to-tell-you-all for how long. But once we decided to get married, we moved quickly. We started making plans for our out-of-town wedding in August 2001. Our 100 or so guests received their invitations Labor Day week.

Then 9/11 happened. Then my husbter's office received an anthrax letter.

And this might seem really strange to say, but that three month engagement period was one of the happiest times of my life. Despite the horror, the worry, the sadness--getting married was the right thing to do. We were sure of our commitment and love and no outside forces could touch that.

And 8 years later, our love and commitment are even stronger. I'd even say it's as strong as the hubster's repaired 8 week-old heart!

My favorite wedding photo. Me and hubster and his terrific Mom.



Looking at the photo reminds me that 8 days before our wedding, I decided the dress that was made for me wouldn't work. It would be a wrinkled mess in 8 minutes or less. So I wore a blue silk dress I already owned and I found the cut silk jacket six days before the wedding. As the salesgirl said, "It's as if this jacket was made just for this dress."