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Like a Good Book

Like a good book, being married is a real page-turner!

Today, we celebrate 18 years since we said, “I do.” The time has seriously gone by in the blink of an eye, and still, it seems we were just kids on that cold January day when our story first began.

I have a terrible memory in general, but I remember so much about that day.  I’ve had lots of memorable moments since then—kids being born, all their milestones, parenting, and all those milestones—but the day we got married is still one of my favorite days of all time.

After the wedding and reception, we were whisked away in a limo and the next day boarded a plane for our honeymoon in Paris.  When I say it was all like a fairy tale come to life, I mean it!

After the honeymoon it was back home, back to school, and back to work.  My new hubby was a high school science teacher at the time, and I was still in college.  Once we were married, I moved two hours from home to where he had been living the few months before our wedding.  So for me, it was a new town, new apartment, new college, and a new job.

I remember my first day at my new job.  Once we were back from the honeymoon, I had one week of orientation before I started my actual job as a bank teller.  I remember chatting with the other young tellers on that first day…all of whom were about my same age…which I was 20.  We were each asking questions, just trying to get to know one another. And here I was answering their questions…

“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, I am married.”
“Oh, wow! How long have you been married?”
“Two weeks.”

Two weeks?!? I remember I was embarrassed somewhat to answer that question.  Two weeks?!? I thought it sounded silly.  I couldn’t think of anyone I knew that had been married for two weeks.  When I would think of how long people had been married, I would think like at least a year, but usually more like five years or 12 years or something like that.  I mean, I know we all have to start somewhere, it just seemed funny to me.

But I answered their question, I was married, and I had been married for two weeks.

I knew then that two weeks would turn into two months and that would turn into two years and on and on.  I knew we had a lifetime ahead of us.  I will admit, it was hard to picture at the time.  When I thought about people I knew that had been married for five years or 12 years, they were so much farther ahead in life and had a house and kids and all that married stuff.  It all seemed so far away.

But sure enough, here we are, 18 years later.  That really sounds crazy to me!  When I think about people that have been married for 18 years, I think of my friends’ parents when I was growing up.  Of course, that seemed so old to me then.  Turns out, here we are and we’re not old at all!  I have a feeling, we never will be!

So much can happen in 18 years.  We have seen our fair share of good times and bad, sickness and health.  We have welcomed children and we have grieved over miscarriages.  We have celebrated joys and we have held one another through our sorrows.  We have earned degrees, changed jobs, moved houses, moved towns.  We have given thanks in times of plenty, and we have struggled together when we were unsure how we would have enough.  

To me, being married really is like a good book…like one of those ginormous James Michener novels my mom would read when we were kids.  Those suckers were huge!  You look at that book and you think, “I’m just on Chapter 1…it will take me forever to get through this.”  But then you take it one page at a time, one day at a time.  


For us, we are two people who are a part of the same beautiful fairy tale. As our story unfolds, and we face each unnamed chapter, we face it together.  The truth is, it ain’t always easy, but it is always worth it.  The truth is, it has been my favorite love story of all time!

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