For most people, having their anniversary to fall on a Monday would serve as some sort of a bad omen.

But after seven years of marriage it’s amazing how easily things like this get shrugged off. Perhaps even five years ago, what took place this past weekend would have caused major issues for us. Sheila and I were supposed to circumvent this bit of calendar craziness by spending Friday together and celebrating our anniversary then by actually sitting down to a nice meal with just the two of us.

Sure, we had a few errands to run, but then it was Red Lobster or Ruby Tuesday’s.

We had been looking forward to it all week long.

Then we got the phone call that schools were closing early at Noon due to the snow. So we had to kick things into high gear just to get to the grocery store, and to make a long story short we never did make it to a restaurant.

Plans busted just like that, we just sort of looked at each other and said “oh well.” There was no reason to get upset about things. Sometimes they just happen like that.

That’s life with children – your best-laid plans get changed (a lot).

And then as quickly as you could snap your fingers it was Monday, meaning that I was in no mood for luvvies or smooches while the race to deadline had begun. Sheila is such a trooper. She understands the stress that each new week brings and she rolls with it.

Roll with it.

Those three words would be my advice to any young couples just getting started out on the trail of marriage. Things change when you have more than yourself to worry about and plan for. You have two schedules and two separate interests to take into account.

Lots of times young married couples really struggle with this. For so long all they have had to worry about was what they wanted to do and when they wanted to do it. Their opinion was the only one that mattered. Having another person intruding on that personal space (24 hours a day, no less) can be a rude shock.

Boy, can I remember those days. Some of them were tough, but it’s been totally worth it.

I suppose I married kind of late (near 30) compared to what kids are doing these days. One of the negatives of that is that you’re so set in your own ways it’s kind of hard to change when that new person enters your life. The advantage, however, is that you kind of know what you are looking for in a life partner, and I would say that I made an inspired choice.

So, along those lines (sort of), I’ve been hiking a lot lately.

I love the solitude, the exercise and the outdoors. I haven’t always been so appreciative of the woods. But as I said earlier, things change. The cool thing is that I couldn’t do this without Sheila’s support and help with the kids. She has no idea how much this has meant to me, that she has chosen to allow me this space.

As the years have passed I’ve also tried to become much more helpful around the house because I’m not sure if you know it or not, but a family of four can really go through some dishes, laundry and accumulate some trash in a week. We’ve talked about it some, these mostly unspoken things, but for the most part we just do it and go about our business.

After seven years I guess we’ve developed some pretty good instincts – things like love (not just passion), respect and caring.

All of which is why I couldn’t imagine spending an anniversary with anyone else on the planet – even if it is celebrated by text message on a Monday deadline.

ILU.