Richie and I have been married for 10 years today. I think back to the excitement we felt 10 years ago, how exhausted I was but how full of adrenaline. I think about the people who came together to see us/help us get married. I think about all the people who drove a long way: Jason, Sara, Beth, Brian, Alexis, Brian, Lauren, Uncle Chip, Aunt Judi, Sherri and Hunter, Chris and Annie, Mimi and Pop-pop, Polly and Jan, Patti and Jeff, Carter and Evelyn with little Merina, Dan and Wendy. Not to mention all the other people who came from around the state. Now that we've had kids, I understand what a huge sacrifice it was especially for those with small children! I think about the lovely women and men who stood up front with us. I think about Jim and JoBeth Kee-Rees and the Bauers, who counseled us through it all. I think about our dear parents who went along with it probably in spite of their misgivings regarding the speed with which we decided to get married.
But mostly I think about Richie, the loving, patient husband and father he has been...and I think about Mazie and Vivian, with whom we have been blessed. Marriage becomes something different after a good number of years have passed and when kids are in the mix. It requires a lot of communication, a lot of compromise, and then more communication and compromise. But mostly, it's a working love. I love my husband and he loves me. Which is to say: when money's tight, we work it out. When a kid has problems, we work it out. When one of us drops the ball, we work it out. It's not easy, but it is beautiful.
For those who don't tolerate mention of God, read no further.
God is at the center of our marriage, and it is from this center that all the beauty, the humility to compromise, the love, love, love.
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