Why my wife is cool, Part XLVIII
I know that part of the purpose of attending a wedding is to celebrate the happy newly crowned bride and groom. When I go to a wedding, however, as I did this weekend, I am always reminded to celebrate how lucky I am to be married to my wife.

One of the cute reception gimmicks was a dance for all the married people. During the song, the DJ kicked off people at intervals based on how long they've been married. "If you've been married for ... one day, sit down." That takes care of the bride and groom, of course. (And a round of applause follows, naturally.) Then, "one year." Then, "five years." Then, "10 years." And, wow, we're still out there.

It'll be 12 years in October. It hasn't always been fun and games. We were very, very young when we got married. I was 22, she was 19. We've learned how to be married mostly by being married.

We're two incredibly different indviduals who happen to function incredibly well as a unit. When you talk to her, you're talking to me. When you talk to me, you're talking to her. We have a well-defined parenting philosophy -- defined largely by her, in her role as Best Parent Anywhere. We play to each other's strengths and try to shore up each other's weaknesses. It's worked very well so far.

I'm damn proud that she represents me. I hope I represent her half as well.