There are many reasons why marrying your high school sweetheart is awesome.

On one hand, every time someone asks, “So, how long have you guys been together?” I watch them crunch numbers in their head when I say, “21 years? 22 years? Something like that.”

I honestly don’t think about it very much, because it is just the norm over here. But I can totally see how it throws the bell curve of the conversation off a little bit. And, really, it changes the direction of conversation from, “Oh, you met at work!” to “omg that is adorable.” And I’m not really sure how to respond to that yet, other than, “Yep!”

Other things pop up in life that make me appreciate how finely woven Ben and I have become.

Such as last night at the pool.

We have a KILLER indoor pool nearby, and while I am one of the last people on earth to thoroughly enjoy slipping into a bathing suit outside of the confines of my house… I actually enjoy swimming here.

Because there are family nights at the pool.  So, while I am swimming with my kids and a hoard of pool noodles, I am amongst other parents with their kids and their beaver dam of pool noodles. It’s laid back, it’s at the end of the day so we’re all pretty chill, and everyone is looking for a lost shoe or trying to convince the kids to get out of the pool because family swim time is over.

We’re all in there together, and it’s nice 🙂

The awesome thing about this pool is that there are a bunch of fun features available. There is a frog slide for toddlers, which is always a huge hit. There is a little wading pool to the side for small kids to splash around in, and not get clobbered by bigger kids. There is a rope swing and a water slide that courses through the walls and down 2 stories, and was so much fun. And there is a high dive.

Which I just ignored, because…why wouldn’t I?

But, being the adventurers that we are, Ben got up on the high dive and jumped off. And a few of our older kids jumped off the high dive. And then they expected me to jump off the high dive.

Anyone remember that time I freaked out on a zipline? Anyone? Well I remember. Like it was yesterday.

I will say, I actually climbed up there…and as soon as I took one hand off the rail, and stared down into the water, and simply thought about jumping off the platform in the sky…my entire body said OH NO, YOU ARE NOT GOING, how about a nice spinning room, instead??

I have to admit that even after my entire family cheered me to jump, and even the elderly lifeguard was laughing and shouting helpful tips like, “Don’t look down! Look at the wall!” I still climbed back down the ladder. Because I really, really, don’t like jumping off things that are higher than my bed.

The thing is, after laughing at me for a few minutes, Ben kissed my forehead and said, “Not much has changed since you were 17.”

It is nice being loved by a person who knows everything about you. There are things in life that you will never have to explain to them. Like, you never have to explain why you hate cauliflower. Ever. They just understand from the get-go that you have texture issues with it, and it is as obvious to them as it is to you.  I don’t have to explain why I hate heights, or why I think planning an Arts & Crafts corner at a tech conference is a wickedly great idea (I’ll explain later), or why I desperately want a Pomeranian even though I am not a dog person.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to go home to the person who knows me better than anyone.

And that is so much more fun than jumping off a high dive.