Party of Four

The day we became a party of two was beautiful. A warm summer day in June, in the presence of 100 people. We were young. I was excited about marrying the young man who caught my eye when I was 14 years old. We said 'I do,' enjoyed a perfect little reception, and boarded an airplane the next morning to Maui. I remember calling David my husband for the first time. We were boarding a shuttle bus at the Maui airport, I sat down but David was a few feet behind me loading the luggage. A woman approached me and asked me if the seat next to me was taken. "Yes, I said, it's for my husband." David sat down next to me a minute later. I leaned over to him and said, "I just called you my husband." We sat there, hand-in-hand, our honeymoon began. A party of two.

5-1/2 years later, we became a party of three. Eli arrived on a beautiful 80 degree winter day in California. I remember the mountains driving to the hospital, contractions 5 minutes apart. All I could do was stare at the mountains, clear as can be. We reached the hospital, parked as far away as we could and walked to where our baby would be born. We would walk. Pause. Contraction. Walk. Pause. Contraction. Walk. Pause. Contraction. 7 hours later this I heard David say, "It's a boy," and this picture was taken. A party of three.

2-1/2 years later, we became a party of four. It was a beautiful summer day in Texas. I remember driving to the hospital. Contractions 5 minutes apart. We drove down the country roads, got on the highway and reached the city. While driving David coached me through contractions. We took our time, stopped for a quick dinner for David, went to the bank, circled around the hospital, stopped for coffee. We were in no hurry. We'd been through this before, we were professionals. We reached the hospital, parked as far away as we could and walked to where our baby would be born. We would walk. Pause. Contraction. Walk. Pause. Contraction. Walk. Pause. Contraction. 5 hours later I heard David say, "It's a girl," and this picture was taken. A party of four.

Now here we are, 1-1/2 years later. Two girls. Two boys. Just doing our best to enjoy this thing called life. Just doing our best to laugh as often as we can.

Last night we took a walk. We would walk. Pause. Pick up the pacifier. Walk. Pause. Pick up a rock. Walk. Pause. Collect some leaves. Walk. Pause. Smile. 1 hour later I heard David say, "It's time for dinner," and there we sat, a party of four.