30 years later......

Yesterday was my and Lou's 30th wedding anniversary. This momentous occasion sparked a desire to look back at our union and reflect on the journey that brought us to this place.

We were very young when we got married....well I was! :) There was so much we thought we knew and so many battles we fought that really do not matter at all anymore. In all honesty, they didn’t matter 30 minutes after they happened. Proving to each other who was right, who was wrong, who gets to pick, who gets to compromise and who is the first to raise the white flag now seems like such a waste of precious time. We raised two children, live in our second home, are now on our fourth dog and second cat. We lost grandparents, parents and precious friends along the way. No matter where we were in our relationship with each other, time did not stand still and life for all kept going. There have been so many sad tears, unbearable heartaches, major frustrations and miles of hurdles to overcome. I choose not to think about those....instead I am smiling as I think about the tears of joy, the many things that made my heart overflow with love and happiness, the things that fell into place when we least expected them to and the ability we had to overcome all of life's obstacles.

Louie greeted me at 7 am with "Happy Anniversary my Love" in his quirky sarcastic tone and was actually excited to turn on the radio to listen to birthdays and anniversaries. The song "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" came on and he laughed since this is his favorite song. I rolled my eyes. Then, unbelievably the next song was "Amarillo by Morning" which was our favorite song when we were dating. We both could not believe it. It was like the DJ knew that these two songs are perfect for this day. Then we waited with excitement for the announcement "Louie and Sissy married 30 years!" Every year our relatives call in our anniversary and birthdays. No one has ever missed a date. Every person in the family gets announced on their special day. We waited. It never came. Wouldn’t you know it? The one day we are PROUD to have a milestone announced to the world, no one in the family remembered to call it in!

We looked at each other and busted out laughing! I then hugged him and said "Happy Anniversary Louie! Damn we are old!" and I pecked him on the cheek as we both went out the door in two different directions just like every other day.

On this day, I thank God for 30 amazing years with my best friend who accepts me for who I am; for better or worse...and believe me when I say, "I have been "worse" far more than I have been "better"!"

Poor Lou! Bless his heart.