Toward the end of the day Michelle and I looked at old photos. Some were two years old (like seeing TJ's birthday party a couple of years ago) all the way to some that were before I met Michelle! It was fun to look over some from our time in Dayton. We really had never setup any photo albums before Claire. I didn't have much to take pictures with at that time.
It brought back many warm memories. It was springtime in our marriage. We were newly wed and newly on our own at the same time. We were busy with school and work and hanging out with Stu and Paula (among others). We lived on base housing and went most places in our two-seater CRX. It was very carefree compared to now but yet, missing the joys of seeing the small smiling faces and watching them grow.
I'm glad that nothing really put a major stress on our marriage at that early time because I'm not sure how strong the bonds were, despite the joy and fun we had. We were just too new to it all. I feel certain that if we had continued using contraception for more than a couple of years, our marriage would have grown sterile as well. We were just doing "what everyone told us to do". I thank the Church for standing firm on their position on that issue. If one takes time to really look into it, to read it and the background behind it, it's a beautiful teaching. In the eight years or so since we looked into it, I don't think I've found anyone whom I could sway, though. It's just too radical in this age where the pill is almost a right that people practically expect the government to subsidize. And yet everyone I know who has followed the Church teaching has commented on how much it improved their marriage. The divorce rate among Natural Family Planning couples is around 2-3% with a family planning reliability that competes well, if not better, with other forms of contraception. Oh well, what can you say without sounding like you're from another planet... Too many bad memories of the ol' rhythm method, I guess. "Vatican roulette"
Back to the pictures: Seeing the pictures of Abby from two years ago really brought home how much the boys now resemble her back then. Abby with her short toddler hair and chunky breastfed cheeks... the resemblance was striking. To see her now I hardly recognize her. It's only been a little over two years!
A co-worker gave me a pointer on where to get some good barbecue in Manchester and brought me a take-out menu. I showed it to Michelle and her folks. I think we'll be sampling the menu selections very soon! Pulled pork sandwiches, here I come!
Work is very much still in reactive mode. I look forward to when I can get some time for some strategic work, not just tactical "forest fighting" work. Hopefully I can get to that point in the next few months. If I could just get ahead of this USB rut for a bit.