Five

And just like that another year has gone by. I find myself wondering how it is possible that not only has another year gone by, but that we've been married five years. FIVE. That is half of a decade.

But these have been the best five years - even in the not so great times when Nate didn't have a job, I have loved every moment of being married to this wonderful man.

Each year that passes I find it harder to remember every detail of the actual day, but thankfully through pictures and a wedding DVD I'm able to remember most of the important stuff.

Things that still stick out to me even five years later:

It was hot. In the 90's. I do not like heat. It made me a mildly cranky bride, though one of my friends still tells me she can't believe how laid back and zen I was. It has never been that warm on this date since by the way.

I remember I wanted to come off like I was not nervous, but when the moment arrived and my dad walked me down the aisle, my flowers were shaking. Though I clearly remember the first face I saw was actually the best man's wife, who gave me the biggest smile ever and it made me relax.

I remember right in the middle of the ceremony, at a quiet reflective moment, the air conditioner in the church quit. And my wedding coordinator walked to the back of the church as quietly as she could in heels to go trudging up the stairs to turn it back on.

After the ceremony, I remember we couldn't find the limo and panicked for a moment, borrowing my hostess's cell phone to track him down to discover, he was just in the parking lot.

In the limo, I remember Nate's cousin bringing a diaper bag, which considering he had a one month old baby wasn't terribly odd except that this diaper bag, contained bottles of beer. We drank the beer and went to the Wild Onion to kill time before the reception and drank horrible free champagne and someone had the brilliant idea that everyone should do a shot. Queue drunk wedding party.

Back in the limo, being a bit tipsy, I remember chatting with the other bridesmaids, who all had serious boyfriends at the time, about who would get married next and then letting the alcohol talk I spilled the beans to my maid of honor that her boyfriend intended to propose and had already sought her father's permission to ask her. Oops!

Arriving at the reception, we were all pretty well, let's still just say "tipsy" and did the procession in and everyone tells me they knew I was in that state because I was "bouncing".

I remember dancing, laughing, celebrating and leaving feeling so blessed and full of joy to have had such a wonderful day shared by so many people.

I hold on to those memories each passing year, but I don't dwell on it either. Everyone has moments of "if I could go back I would change this", but what is more important to me is where we are now. I love the life we've built together thus far. I love all the things we do together and share with friends and family. I love where we are going in this journey called life.

Plain and simple, I love us.