this day

December 12: Friday night. A blustery, snowy, cold, winter evening. I am tired after working all day. It was a fun day with the department's holiday party, but still I am tired, and it is cold outside. I'm tempted to stay holed up in my room all night, but eventually decide I may as well continue the festivities so on the urging of a sorority sister I brave the cold to head to a happy hour. Find the bar full of the sorority sister's graduate program classmates celebrating the end of their semester. I know almost all of them already, but there's a guy that I haven't seen before. He's introduced to me. Surprisingly he also did his undergrad degree at the same school, but even being on the same (small) campus for the past five years, our paths had never previously crossed. We start talking. He asks me lots of questions about myself. He makes me laugh. The room is full of friends of mine from the past 5 years, and we chat and dance and drink plastic cups of beer. And in between it all, I keep finding myself next to this guy, who keeps talking to me and making me laugh. At the end of the night, he asks for my phone number. I am a little surprised but also pleased, and I give it to him. Then he's gone.

I wonder if he will call me. I wonder if I will see him again. My annoying rational side says don't get too excited, I'm graduating next semester, not much point in dating here anymore. The party ends; my roommate and I go out in the cold to head home. Outside, it is much too cold for my preference. But on this day, I feel a warm glow thinking about the past six hours. I hope that he will call.

Seven years later. December 12: Sunday. A blustery, snowy, cold winter day. A good morning to sleep in late, recovering from a late night at a charity holiday party at a bar, organized by the group I volunteer with. The bar was full of friends, including that same sorority sister from 7 years ago and some other college friends who've migrated to Chicago as well, and some new ones. We chatted and danced and drank red wine and stayed out much later than usual. Now in the morning, I wake up with my husband and we find the wind whipping snow around outside. We make tea and coffee and breakfast, then it's time to brave the cold to walk a couple blocks to church. Back home, we dig the Christmas decorations out of storage. We drink more coffee and tea and do some work. We talk about our frustrations with our jobs and with the condo association. We talk about ideas for rearranging furniture, and our plans for the holidays. We sneak the leftover gingerbread men we made the day before for the party. He still makes me laugh all the time. We make dinner together and then have hot cocoa and watch the Simpsons and decorate our little Christmas tree. We sit on the couch with Christmas music playing and the glow of white lights winking against pine needles and sparkling in shiny ornaments.

I wonder where our careers will take us. I wonder about our future; we have so many questions right now. But I know that we'll be ok if we are figuring it out together. In the past seven years, we have been up and down as we've moved through the "better and worse" of life. I could never have imagined how love can bloom into something so full and so strong, from enduring life's trials and soaring on life's highs together. I am so glad that through it all, I kept finding this same guy next to me, talking about everything and cheering each other on through the hard stuff and, of course, making each other laugh. Outside, it is much too cold for my preference. But on this day, I feel a warm glow thinking about the past seven years. It is good to be together.