Eyes Wide Open

We know that there are times in our lives when we are so sad about an event that we can't really look at it full on. We have to deal with it little by little as we can manage it. I think the same can be said for happiness.

Because otherwise, one day you open your eyes and look around you, I mean really look around you. You find that you are standing in a big gym in a YMCA in Chicago, Illinois. Around you are three other remarkably nice and friendly moms you have met because you all have sons in this Super Hero Training Class. You are watching your older son, this beautiful and happy 5-year old, flying around the room in a bright orange cheetah cape, grinning hugely. He kicks a ball and watches it bump into a friend - "Sorry!" he quickly offers, watching to make sure the boy is okay, and then resumes his flight around the room. The theme music to the movie "Superman" is playing loudly from a speaker behind you. You then pan over to this other child, your younger son, another beautiful and happy boy, who is almost two. He is balanced precariously on a board with two much bigger boys, and grinning up at them devilishly.

It all hits you at once: these happy boys are also healthy. In fact, so are you and your husband. You both have loving, supportive families, and countless friends. Tomorrow will be your 10th wedding anniversary, and it's overwhelming to think how far your life has come in these 10 years. You think back to the day you were married, how young and truly clueless you really were, and yet how beautifully it's all turned out. Of course there have been bumps in the road - boulders, even - but here you all are, and look at these boys! - and how exciting to be in this new city, full of potential with countless adventures ahead.

It's all you can do not to burst into tears in the middle of the Super Hero Training class at your local YMCA.

Happy Anniversary, Matt.