10000 days

If the online calculators are to be believed, exactly 10,000 days ago my life took a dramatic and fortuitous turn. I met the girl that would become my wife, the mother of my children, and in the coming years, my partner in figuring out what the hell we do now that we've unlocked the raise kids into responsible adults achievement.

It was not love at first sight. We were pushed together into a blind date when the friend of mine she had asked to her sorority formal decided to bail on the date. Michelle was not sure, and thus a meetup at our frat party that weekend was arranged. I guess I did a reasonable impression of boyfriend material at the party as the formal date was confirmed. That didn't stop me from almost blowing it before that second date could happen though. I was special that way. Yet somehow I defied all odds and got the cute sorority girl to stick around long enough to fall in love with me, and vice versa. (The full story of that first date.)

A lot has happened in that 10,000 days. From all the drama of dating in college, to running off to Hawaii to get married, to buying our first house, to becoming parents, to picking up on a bit of whim and moving to VA, to homeschooling two kids all the way from age 5 into college, and to whatever the future holds. I couldn't have picked a better partner to take this ride with, and I'm really looking forward to the next 10,000 days!

A few photos of us - starting at that second date.

I think it was Ron that posted about his 10,000 anniversary with Andrea recently. That got me curious, and when I calculated the date I realized it was coming soon, and here we are.