Five Events That Wouldn't Have Happened

If Ash and I hadn't decided to become a couple 11 years ago today, five important events would never have happened.

I've heard of the butterfly effect, paying it forward, Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life and the whole if he wasn't born thing. And so as Ash and I sat at our dinner table eating the Shepherd's Pie I made our family for dinner, and we talked about how 11 years ago today Ash and I became a couple, I wondered how our little decision changed the world.

5. The Euro

Everyone who knows us knows that in the last 11 years, Ash and I have been to Europe a ton of times. For travel, for music tours, to see friends. Our first trip to Europe together was in December of 2001, and in preparation for our travels, the European nations came together and decided it would be easier for us to get one type of currency to use when we travel from Belgium, to France, to the Netherlands, to Germany and so on.


4. The Subprime Mortgage Crisis

In December of 2004 with our hearts full of love and our heads full of calculations we decided that at 24 and 25 we'd buy our first home. The potential to not only find a home to raise our future children in, but a chance to pass down something worth far more than we paid for it to them meant we hurried into the market. Eyes wide, pockets open. Soon after we watched houses in our neighborhood dip way below what we paid, and we watched friends that hadn't been as responsible and level-headed as us get way better deals by waiting.

3. Barack Obama Becomes First Black President

President Obama really owes us a huge thank you. We're linked to his presidency in so many ways. First of all, we conceived our first child in November of 2008 knowing our future child would be President. Barack Obama had to win the presidency in order to pave the way for our child to be President in 2048.

Also, Ash and I are responsible for President Obama's win in a much more concrete way. We spent weekends going door-to-door in Loudon County, VA. A swing county in a swing state. The county hadn't gone democratic in forever. Virginia went with Obama because Loudon went with Obama and Loudon went with Obama because we went door-to-door even on election day. The votes trickled throughout the country after VA went with him. We created a domino effect of voters running to the polls.

2. Astrological sign shifting

Ash was born a gemini and I was born a pisces. One thing lingered over our relationship for years. We felt happy. We loved each other. We planned to stay together forever, but, but, our astrological signs were at war. To put it mildly, we didn't have much of a chance at the long haul, unless, unless, science was on our side. And so, recently, the astrological signs changed. And now, the Aquarius and Taurus have a love match that has a real chance long term.

I'd expect a few more shifts until our signs are completely compatible.

1. Noah

This is potentially the biggest and most amazing event we created. Only time will tell the true significance of this one, but anyone can see what a special little person he is.