Wedding Anniversary, By the Numbers

8: Years to the day Jen and I have been married. How time flies!

7: Hours I slept the night before our wedding. I seem to remember getting woken up by my Aunt Esperanza's manic cooking at the big house at about 7 a.m. She made breakfast for anyone who wanted it.

6: Time in the p.m. we were officially husband and wife, give or take a few minutes. The wedding started at 5:30, and I remember being genuinely nervous for the first time all day right before it began. So much so that I stopped Bishop Powell before we stepped out to the chapel and asked if we could have a prayer.

5: Groomsmen in our wedding, including the best man. Also, the number of folks in the mariachi band that played after the ceremony and at the reception.

4: Siblings I inherited after marrying Jen. I even like most of them. (Just kidding, guys!)

3: Days we spent on our honeymoon in Bandon, Oregon. Yes, this was the "He's a rookie newspaper reporter/She's a grad student" honeymoon. One of these years, we'll have a proper honeymoon.

2: Children we've had since then. Noe and Asher, you guys continue to amaze me.

1: Times I've spent my wedding anniversary alone. It was bound to happen one of these years, and this was the year. On the bright side, Jen is happy because she's spending it in Portland.

0: Doubt in my mind that Jen is the love of my life.