thanks, real simple

so, my subscription is about to expire- and i had thought i might not renew it in lieu of parenting mags or other ways to spend $20 a year or whatever. but i didn't get past page 2 of this month's issue before rethinking, thanks to this quote:

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other
but in looking outward
together in the same direction."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

dude! for years i have tried to express this very thought about why i married paul, why he is my favorite, and how i knew that we'd be together for the long haul at the ripe old age of twenty-one. i had no idea that the perfect quote was sitting there, saying it for me, though i shouldn't be surprised.

i think it is a nice reminder as we learn how to be parents together. parenting can be so stressful on a marriage, especially at first when you still feel like you have no idea what you are doing. soon after that you start to feel like you DO know what you're doing, and that of course your way is the best and WHY AREN'T YOU DOING IT RIGHT?!?! we had a few discussions before p (the younger) arrived, trying to minimize any new-parent-stress-fallout. i think we have done pretty well, really. but as the baby gets older, we'll have to continue to make sure we aren't ignoring our relationship. now that i am pumping a bit, maybe we'll even GO ON A DATE or something wild like that!

i'd love to post a picture here, but now i realize that p (the elder) and i haven't been in a photo together in a while. we'll have to work on that!

so, uh, yeah. that's all. i probably ought to have scanned the photo that went with the quote, because it's really funny. if you get the mag, check it out. there is a married couple looking out through binoculars in a mountain setting. it's clearly an older pic, and the woman is wearing some sweet acid wash mom jeans!