Happy Anniversary

Hunter and I were married 8 years ago today. Normally, we would be having a romantic dinner for two about now. But, with our new addition we are grabbing bites of our take out Italian feast in between entertaining RJ and/or trying to keep him awake until bath time. And for whatever reason, Sassy Cat decided to bless us with her presence. So we made do eating at the coffee table and kitty obligingly cleaned our plates afterwards.

You will notice Hunter is shirtless. This summertime phenomenon in our house has been the one sticking point during our entire marriage. As a newly married couple, I decided a few things from the start. One was that we would sit down to dinner every night (with no TV). We actually lasted a couple of years of eating in the dining room. Then, I think, somewhere about the time of our fertility woes I said screw it and we started eating in the kitchen with the TV on.

But in those early days, I began to notice Hunter would come to dinner with no shirt. He would change into his "work" shorts to labor in the garden in the evenings. But he would not put on a shirt. So, gently one night - us being newlyweds after all - I explained to him that this was upsetting to me. I explained that no matter how hot it got in the summer, my father would not allow my brother to come to the dinner table shirtless. Hunter listened to me and then explained that it was the opposite in his house growing up. That he and his father always ate at the dinner table with no shirts.

I know it's silly to bring it up after 8 years. It's just one of those things that make a couple have to work on compromising. I still can't stand the shirtless thing, though. One of the nights before the baby was due to arrive, we had a bit of a hot spell. Hunter sat down to dinner with no shirt. I just looked at him and begged, "Can you please promise me you will not teach our son to come to the dinner table without a shirt on?" Hunter didn't say a word. He just got up and put his shirt on. I thought that was very sweet of him.

And then, a couple of weeks ago we all got up and had breakfast together. We all three sat at the kitchen table and I suddenly realized Hunter and the baby were both shirtless. ARRGGHHH! So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and I took this picture of Daddy and Son watching a little Sunday morning TV.