The Marker of Adulthood

Last night, we sat in rocking chairs, wrapped ourselves in blankets, and listened, through quiet whispers and glancing smiles, to the movements of every creature around us in the chilly mountain air. We marked the first hour of our anniversary in the same way we have marked every day of this life together, with an ear to each other and the world around us. This is 18 years, the marker of adulthood.