People thought we'd never make it.

They couldn't see how a guy from Sharon and a girl about to start her senior year at Penn State could make a relationship work.

Surely, the three-hour drive would be too much.

Surely, he'd lose interest after her internship at The Herald was over.

Surely, she'd meet other boys in State College.

But, Mark Eberle and Kara McConnell couldn't get enough of each other.

We saw the distance between us as a challenge to be conquered -- sometimes making a round trip in one day just for the fun of it.

Mark didn't meet anyone else.

And I was too wrapped up in him to find someone in Happy Valley.

We instantly became a team, of sorts.

We spent hours driving around in Mark's Sunfire GT, talking and laughing.

We listened to Alanis Morissette, Kid Rock and Shania Twain at ear-piercing levels.

It was easy to be in love.

I graduated and found a job in York.

The three-hour drive between us doubled.

And two months later, Mark moved across the state to be with me. He proposed less than a year after that.

We sailed through our first year of marriage, living the life of 20-somethings in a tiny apartment.

We bought a house in 2003. It was August, and we had no air conditioning. The house also didn't have a refrigerator, a stove or a washer and dryer.

We quickly bought all the necessary appliances and were soon back to our care-free life.

We worked hard during the day and partied (probably harder)

Advertisement
at night.

On the weekends, we didn't roll out of bed before noon.

We were older and had more responsibilities, but it was still easy to be in love.

A few years later, we realized we wanted more.

We wanted a baby.

It wasn't long before I learned I was pregnant with Mara.

And nothing has been easy since.

Mark and I worked opposite shifts while Mara was a baby. He worked days and I worked nights, so one of us could always be home with her. It didn't leave much time for sleep.

I glared at Mark while nursing Mara back to sleep at 3 a.m.

We were still a team. But no team functions well without rest.

I tell people I blocked out most of 2005 and 2006. I don't want to remember the days that blended into nights or how we passed each other between shifts like zombies.

We've been parents for almost four years now, and it's not quite as hard.

We're getting more sleep. And "Team Eberle," as we've dubbed ourselves, is stronger than ever.

Sometimes I hear "our song" -- Shania Twain's "You're Still the One" -- on the radio. And when I hear "Look at what we could be missing," I look at our perfect little girl.

Life might not be as easy as it used to be, but Mark is still the one I kiss goodnight.

And seven years after I said "I do," it looks like we made it.

Kara Eberle is editor of Smart, and today is her seventh anniversary. Sign up for a free subscription to the magazine at www.smartmamapa.com.