SIXTEEN

Etymology: Middle English sixtene, from Old English sixtȳne, adjective, from six six + -tȳne (akin to Old English tīen ten)

Around 8:00 tonight, I'll have known my husband for sixteen years. We met on my twentieth birthday, so each year my birthday marks not just another year for me, but another year for us. As you might imagine, we've both changed a lot in sixteen years. Physically, we're both a bit rounder around the edges. Intellectually, we're interested in far different things than we were back then. Emotionally, we're both more stable, thanks largely to each other and our faith.

While geographically we aren't far from where we started sixteen years ago in the library at VU, we've walked through dating, engagement, marriage, three children and many other events, both large and small. I am thankful that these shared experiences have drawn us closer together instead of pulling us apart. We still like each other in addition to loving each other. We haven't always evolved symmetrically: J is still the preppy boy he was when I met him, even if he does now own shirts that are not blue, while I have found my own style and it's not what I wore in college!

I liked J from the moment I met him because he was kind, unassuming and funny. We were studying for an art history final: he needed to pass the exam to pass the class and I was an art history major, working to keep an A. We both accomplished what we needed to on the exam the next day. Not long ago, I was on a field trip with A to The Parthenon and I showed her a coffered ceiling, one of the things I clearly remember telling J would probably be on the exam. It was, and he told me after the exam that he'd only known it thanks to studying with me. I love that I have clear memories of the first time I met J.

I also love that each year on my birthday, I get to remember that my best birthday gift ever arrived on my 20th birthday. I can't imagine any gift I'll ever receive that will stack up to J as my friend, partner in life and husband. It's nice timing that this occurs in December, since I try to spend the month remembering that Christmas is not about this year's gifts, but about celebrating the greatest gift of Christ's birth. How sweet of God to send me not only the gifts of J and His son, but reminders of them.