Selective Memory

Now that tweeting has become the norm and your life's thoughts are captured in 140 characters or less (we are trying to have joint twitter feeds down the right-hand column and failing), what has happened to the lengthy narrative of our lives? The blog has already been rendered out-of-touch, likely because it is too thorough, too all-encompassing and (gasp) too much work.

We said we would welcome an August vacation and we did just that. The marriage of dear friends followed by the annual affair with Watervale. Now that we've reflected and recharged, it's time to greet autumn with a vengeance.

And while Mandy's post about tracking the past 10 years of her life (below) was only a month ago, today marks the opportunity to stretch another year, to mark the celebration of 11 years together. Yes, September 11th. 9/11. Of the 365 days we could've chosen to embark on our own adventure, we choose (unbeknownst at the time, of course) the darkest date of American history in the 21st century. And while 9/11/01 is painfully etched in our memories, the Haskett household quietly celebrates the better year for this date: 9/11/98

There is nothing romantic about the start of our relationship. It was 6 days after a forgettable (100% my fault) kiss, I was grounded, we were on the phone and we were questioning what had become of our suddenly complicated friendship. We were inseperable without being an item. Best friends ignoring any attraction. And then we realilzed that we loved each other. I really don't remember much about the phone call (remember, I was grounded), but when it was over with, I had a girlfriend, a steady, a 'going out' partner, a lover and the best person I could ever want to spend time with.

Sure, there have been our share of rough patches over the past 11 years, and we haven't been "together" for 4,017 consecutive days, but that doesn't change the fact that we made a decision on this night 11 years ago that altered my life forever and will always be the best decision I ever made. We were 17-years-old, ignorant little high school children. But somehow we knew something was special, and we've grown every minute with the other along for the ride.

It's only fitting that we are celebrating our 10-year high school reunion this weekend, merging the past with the present for a few hours to relive what was. And when it is all over, I still will be able to take the best thing from high school home with me.