Here we are: Charlotte, Elle, and I, the other evening, just about to have dinner at a fancy-pantsy pizzeria in Malmö. This was two days after Charlotte and I drove up to Halmstad to spend a night at a hotel to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary with a cozy dinner followed by a long walk around town.

My father was married four times, and only one of his marriages lasted longer than 10 years. I haven’t put any particular effort into my relationship with Charlotte just to ensure I beat my father’s chronic inability to work stuff out instead of fleeing his four wives and the kids he had with three of them.

Instead, Charlotte and I have had a ton of fun, done amazing things, traveled the world, and lived in several places. It has been a wonderful, often exhilarating ride, especially after we were gifted with Elle. That is why it made the most emotional sense to me to include her in this anniversary post.