Back in time

If you missed the memo, we're in the process of settling into our new apartment. With all the unpacking, I came across a treasure trove of old pictures in one of my memory boxes.

After looking over a few, I became convinced that Grahm and I wouldn't have gotten married if we had known each other at a young age. He wouldn't have liked me very much. Not many people did. I was a holy terror. The wild child. A cross between the Michelin Man and the Energizer Bunny -- aka a whopper with lots of energy and an unbreakable willpower (except for gum balls which apparently were the only thing my dad had that could convince me to use the big girl potty).

My mother did her best to tame me and my crazy curls, but it was pointless. I was the epitome of a hot mess. She had to call people before we came over to warn them, "Jena's coming. Put away the breakables!" I liked to destroy things, especially my little sister's dolls. (She's still a little scarred from having to witness the head of her beloved Pocahontas doll get stapled back together.)

Not a lot has changed, besides my inexplicable need to destroy everything in sight and my hair. It suddenly went straight when I was five. Go figure. I had fabulous hair with full body and style when I was entirely too young to appreciate it. (Curse the hair gods and their cruel humor.)

If you look closely, there's a boob shot in there somewhere.

Grahm, on the other hand, was a little angel. He never stole birthday cake from his cousin, or destroyed his brother's toys with malicious intent. He was a little shy and a tad nerdy, which is still true. (I love living close to my MiL, so I can look at these pictures whenever I want!)

I don't think this soccer lovin', rock climbin', bottleneck glasses wearin' kid would have been able to handle the hot mess known as Jena Carper. This timid little boy would have run away crying when I came in and destroyed all his legos with my chubby foot just because I could.

While I think it's cute when couples have known each other their entire lives, I'm glad our love story didn't start when I had out-of-control hair and snot plastered to my face, because if it had I think our relationship would've been doomed. Grahm wouldn't have been able to look at me now with anything but confusion and a little bit of fear. 

Time did us well. Not only did we get significantly better looking (it was a close one there for a while, folks) ...we also grew into a more compatible couple. As to our unborn kids, I hope you're like your father. He was/is a much nicer and easier-to-manage person.