365 and counting, part II

What a difference a year makes.

One year ago today, I'd lost my job. Got a phone call from the HR department saying that I was fired.

I got that call while I was eating lunch at a rest stop in Indiana. I was making my first trip out to visit Julie, someone I'd just met a few weeks earlier online.

I was nervous that trip, well, about as nervous as I get. The trip was worth it, though, when I pulled in her driveway and she ran out the door and we hugged for the longest time in her front yard. I don't think we've stopped hugging since.

Yeah, it's been an interesting year. There've been ups and downs. I'm deep in debt and my credit rating's pretty much shot to Hell. I've a house back in Pittsburgh that, when it sells, will pay off my bills. I still don't have a job, and I wonder from day to day where the money's going to come from to pay the next bill. And I lost The Kid a few months ago, but at least she's not hurting anymore.

Still, I wouldn't change a thing. For all the problems, I'm happier now that I've ever been. I'm in love, and that love is returned in kind, sometimes a hundredfold. I've gained so much more than I had...a family, a woman who I will marry and love for the rest of my life, and even a step-grandson.

Some folks have wondered why we celebrate two anniversaries. Truth be told, I celebrate every day I spend with Julie. Odds are, I could find something else tomorrow to celebrate with her. Doesn't matter. They're just memories, things we have to share and things we have to look forward to.