Nine Months and Counting

Brendan and I will celebrate nine months of marriage tomorrow. Wow. That's a long time; we're only three months shy of the one-year mark. Before I tied the knot, all my married friends told me that once we were married I'd love Brendan more than ever. And that's very true; I never thought I could be this close to another person. I also learned that you won't really discover those little eccentricities about someone (say, that he is incapable of not leaving his shoes in the middle of the living room floor) until you've lived with him.

But the most important lesson marriage has taught me is how to be unselfish. If Brendan wants to eat at a restaurant that I don't particularly like, I let it go because I know it will make him happy. I'm the messy one in the relationship (big surprise), but I'll intentionally try to keep the house clutter-free because it's important to him.

And Brendan does the same things for me. He knows that I'm an obsessive recycler, and he'll go out of his way to recycle something even when its inconvenient. He'll suggest going to McKay's for lunch because he knows how much I love their cupcakes.

I can be a pretty selfish person, but I'm willing to take one for the team because I'd rather Brendan be happy instead of me. That's the magic of marriage.

Baby Brackett

I'm going to be an aunt! Brendan's sister Natalie and her husband Tom are expecting their first child in April, and I am beyond excited. Brendan and I found out at the beginning of August, but we weren't technically allowed to tell anyone until Natalie was in her second trimester. I've waited for so long to tell everyone, and I finally got to put the news up on Facebook for the whole world to see.

The baby will be the first niece/nephew for both Brendan and me. I haven't even met this little person, but I already love it so much. I can't wait to start buying baby clothes and toys. And the best part is, I get to play with a snugly little baby! I'm not too crazy about the name "Aunt Erin," though; the words kind of run together and sound like "Anne Taryn." Maybe I'll be the cool aunt and come up with an original nickname.

I predict that the baby will be a boy. It's just a feeling.

Four Weeks Down

I'm about four weeks into the new school year, and things are going well. Teaching my 111 class is fun, and the kids are great for the most part, but the semester has also been very stressful. It's difficult balancing being a teacher with being a student, and preparing for one "job" can sometimes take a backseat to the other.

My little 111 students turned in their very first paper yesterday, and no one turned it in late! I was so proud of them. I think that they think I'm a little scatterbrained and too excited about English (which is probably true of me in real life), but they know that I want them to succeed and that I won't be a pushover. They're a really sweet class, and I don't have any troublemakers. (I hope I haven't jinxed myself by writing that...)

While it can be stressful planning my 111 class and keeping up with my work as a grad student, I do enjoy teaching. Every now and then I'll have a rough day teaching where I'll think to myself, "I don't know what I'm doing!" But most of the time, I'm glad I'm a teacher.