The beginning of our new year celebrations really begins today. No, we aren't huge party animals that need a full two and a half weeks to ring in the new year. We just happened to get married on this December day, that is so close to the end of the calendar year. So, while most people are thinking of wrapping the year up, of things coming to an end, and closing the books on 2013, we are doing the opposite. We are celebrating a new beginning; the beginning of 13.
Thirteen years ago today, we promised that out lives would forever be joined. I didn't understand what I was saying, but I think 13 years later, I understand it now. And it is good; so, so good. Better than my silly 20-year-old self ever thought it could be. And it is hard; oh, so hard. Harder than my 20-year-old self ever imagined it would be. But the hard parts of life don't scare me so much anymore. I've been told that if it is easy, it just might not be worth your time. At the beginning of our thirteenth year of marriage, I think I'm starting to agree.
Both of us knew, from a very early point in our dating, that we had found the person we wanted to marry. We didn't share that with each other at the time, of course. (We didn't want to scare the other person off, you know!) This led to a fierce commitment to each other that many of our peers didn't understand. Okay, not just peers. Many older adults in our lives didn't understand either. Okay, let's be honest. Nobody understood how we could know at 20 and 22 that we were sure we wanted to commit the rest of our lives to each other. Not even us. We didn't understand it, we just knew it to be true.
The fierce commitment that earned us a lot of teasing and a good many lectures has served us well. It has gotten us through the darker times, and made the light-filled times even brighter. As in all marriages, many things have fought to pull us apart. But unlike many marriages, we have been blessed with this gift of seeing our commitment through. We have stayed: through richer and poorer; through times of sickness and times of health; through good times and bad. We are, for better or for worse, two stubborn people, who, by the grace of God, now know exactly what we meant when we said, "I do."
Happy anniversary, Big D.
Love always,
Anne
4 comments:
This is very well said! I concur the same after 15.5 years of marriage! Congrats on 13 and best wishes on [bakers] dozens more! ;)
-A friend of your Brother's
Oh Anne i think Uncle Kenny and I can relate. We dated such a short time and planned a wedding in three weeks. I was even accused of marrying him just si i could live in HawIi. But when you know you just know and no one can understand but you and the one you love. So needless to say we are still an US! Was it easy not always did we get through it yes because we wanted to. 28 years later i would do it all over again. So to those doubters i say maybe some either didn't try hard enough or they didn,t care enough. Cheers to you and Rob i hope you have many more years together.
Thanks for the kind words, LouAnna! And, congratulations on almost 16 years of marriage!
Thanks so much, Aunt Dee! I never knew that you dated for a short time before you married. We really appreciate your support!
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