In which another year gets away from us.
A year ago Thursday, Robin and I stood in front of Kazakh officials to become parents. Ten years ago Friday, we stood in front of Las Vegas officials to become husband and wife.
Both ceremonies were a touch suspect. The first was in a foreign language and we've yet to decipher the papers we signed. The second was conducted at a drive-thru where a W.W.F. smack-down had occurred the week before.
None the less, it's been a week of special anniversary memories.
From the marriage perspective, we agreed over dinner on Friday that it doesn't feel like ten years. That said, we've certainly changed. Case in point, yesterday's conversation went like this:
"Hey Robin, I have a giant zit inside my nose!"
"Gross! Can I see it?"
You just don't have that kind of magical closeness when you're dating.
From the parental perspective, time has flown with equal swiftness. We look back at pictures from a year ago and can't believe that Owen was ever so small and quiet and serious. He's grown from a helpless baby who could barely hold his head up into a tyrannically sweet little boy who will throw open the shower door to point at his shivering, naked father and shout, "Toes! Wet!"
Owen continues to grow and learn with amazing speed. This week he figured out that the 'choo Mike and Marilyn Evans gave him runs much better on the tracks than across them.
He can pick out the "S" and the letters "O," "W" and "E" (the "N" continues to elude him). And he's expanded his vocabulary to include the word "clock" meaning either clock or watch.
Unfortunately, he swallows the "L" sound in "clock." This was embarrassing when he loudly asked to see my watch in the restaurant yesterday.
When he's not embarrassing his parents, Owen likes playing hide-n-go-seek, with a favorite spot being the tiny space between the refrigerator and the stove. He also loves his cat and his dogs. They sort of love him, too, but they're more than a bit leery of his death-grip hugs.
We also enjoy our gymnastics including the patented "upside down Owen" and "no hands flip dismount" maneuvers. Most of all, though, we enjoy visitors.
Yesterday we were lucky enough to have a surprise visit from old friend Audrea Strelo. Sadly, she was in town for a funeral; but happily she made time to stop by and have a quick bite to eat with us.
It was fun to see her. We reminisced about freezing to death in Siberia and compared notes on how our kids have changed.
Jack and Ben have both managed to stand up in the bath tub and pee on one another. Neither, however, has produced the little brown "submarine" that Owen has twice delighted us with.
All in all, not too bad a repertoire for a year's work.
