Certainly a milestone of married life, my wife and I walked the aisle and exchanged rings twenty five years ago today. Not much can surpass the love of a good woman, and with that I have certainly been blessed.
When we met 29 years ago, we were both teens, just out of high school. As you might have imagined, she found me on the lawn of the local community college, playing guitar underneath a tree. We ended up taking a class together, and towards the end of the semester, I asked her out on a date. Sitting across the table from her in a coffee shop, her easy laugh and honest attitude won me over pretty much instantly. I proposed three weeks later.
Like most couples, we've had our ups and downs over the years. There were a lot of issues to be worked out along the way, starting with the fact that neither of our families approved of our relationship for religious reasons. Nonetheless, they still supported us, and I'm sure that in the end, their support contributed to our success.
Looking back over the years, I have said many times that the good Lord has blessed me with a gift of having good hunches, and that my best one was proposing to my wife right off the bat like I did. When I look at the awesome place we are at now in our marriage, I sometimes ask myself, 'how could I have known all this twenty nine years ago?'. The answer is that I didn't, but I knew enough, even on that first date. I knew that the laughter was rich and warm, and that if I could keep her laughing, my life would be rich and warm. And I knew she was honest, and that as long as she would continue to speak her mind, I could continue to do my part to keep working things out. This may not be the whole secret to a good marriage, but after 25 years I can say that it sure doesn't hurt.
Part of my love for my wife has been public knowledge for a while now. Posted to my website, I will requote a small passage here. 'I love being able to look over at my wife, and see past the day to day stuff we are forced to deal with, and see the child in her eyes that is still alive and know that I can help protect.
I love being able to look at her face and begin to sense what she will look like in 20 years from now, and know that she will age gracefully...'
I am glad I have friends here to share this with.
When we met 29 years ago, we were both teens, just out of high school. As you might have imagined, she found me on the lawn of the local community college, playing guitar underneath a tree. We ended up taking a class together, and towards the end of the semester, I asked her out on a date. Sitting across the table from her in a coffee shop, her easy laugh and honest attitude won me over pretty much instantly. I proposed three weeks later.
Like most couples, we've had our ups and downs over the years. There were a lot of issues to be worked out along the way, starting with the fact that neither of our families approved of our relationship for religious reasons. Nonetheless, they still supported us, and I'm sure that in the end, their support contributed to our success.
Looking back over the years, I have said many times that the good Lord has blessed me with a gift of having good hunches, and that my best one was proposing to my wife right off the bat like I did. When I look at the awesome place we are at now in our marriage, I sometimes ask myself, 'how could I have known all this twenty nine years ago?'. The answer is that I didn't, but I knew enough, even on that first date. I knew that the laughter was rich and warm, and that if I could keep her laughing, my life would be rich and warm. And I knew she was honest, and that as long as she would continue to speak her mind, I could continue to do my part to keep working things out. This may not be the whole secret to a good marriage, but after 25 years I can say that it sure doesn't hurt.
Part of my love for my wife has been public knowledge for a while now. Posted to my website, I will requote a small passage here. 'I love being able to look over at my wife, and see past the day to day stuff we are forced to deal with, and see the child in her eyes that is still alive and know that I can help protect.
I love being able to look at her face and begin to sense what she will look like in 20 years from now, and know that she will age gracefully...'
I am glad I have friends here to share this with.
