Happy Anniversary to Us

Today Clay and I celebrate 19 years of marriage. Our festivities got off to a little earlier start than we expected.

Last night we went to bed about 11:40pm. At 12:10am (soon after falling fast asleep) we were awakened by the piercing blare of our apartment complex's fire alarm system. We have of course heard this sound quite a few times before having lived in this apartment for many years. It's a sound no person could sleep through or even remain in the same room for more than the seconds it takes to dress and leave. I suppose that's the point.

There were about 100 of us gathered outside on the front lawn waiting for the fire department to arrive. We are fortunate to live less than a mile from the nearest fire station. We were visited by one fire engine, a ladder truck and a third smaller fire department vehicle. All the emergency lights had folks in the neighboring townhomes out on their lawns to view the spectacle. Fortunately there was no real fire and the most exciting thing to look at were all the firemen in their gear and some carrying hatchets.

After about half an hour we were given the okay to head back inside where we fell back to sleep quickly. It made for a good excuse to say "Happy Anniversary" to each other a little earlier than expected.

On Thursday we head to Vancouver, BC for a couple days to celebrate properly. It was 20 years ago on Thursday when we met in person for the first time after developing our relationship over what we like to call "the information superhighway when it was just a dirt road."

We can't wait for the next 19 years. :)