Longer Than...

Jeff and I quietly celebrated our "longer than" anniversary last week on the longest day of the year. Nothing fancy. Too little time, too many responsibilities, too little money guaranteed that it was only going to be a quiet dinner, and it was almost alone. Violet was there. She was a darling and kept quiet most of the dinner so we could celebrate together. We figured this year we would start celebrating our a "longer than" anniversary along side our wedding anniversary. Simply put, Jeff and I have now been married to each other longer than we have ever been married to anyone else.

In my opinion, second marriages happen because there are souls out there who are willing to believe in love just one more time. Second marriages do not have the innocence of first marriages or the idealism. Most of the people are battle-scarred and yet, there is a deep hope that this time it will be "for real" and be "different". And if the right people find their way to each other, work at it as they work on themselves simultaneously it becomes something that is beautiful in it's own right.

With experience comes the wisdom and humility to recognize that no marriage is ever perfect, certainly not ours. Marriage is not an obligation by any means, but I am proud that we have always chosen to be "married" every day. Some days I am more committed to the cause and some days Jeff is more committed to the cause. It has a way of balancing out. We really like the marriage advice "you can fall out of love with each other sometimes, just not at the same time".

For my children, if they ever read this : Your mother and father did not have a story book beginning. I am sure as you grow older some of the details maybe even become fodder for gossip. But somehow we were able to carve out our own little piece of happiness on this Earth by finding our way to each other and that joy also included welcoming you into our "family". And no matter how your own stories and journey's play out, remember to believe in true love just one more time. Trust us, it's worth every hurt and pain you have to go through. Each of you serve as a reminder of how deeply in love we are and how bound by blood we have become.

Thank you to our family and our friends who have served as good and bad examples. Your success and failures have truly blessed our marriage. Thank you to those quiet steadfast confidantes whom we are able to share the highs and lows of marriages with. Whether it's a small tidbit of advice on how to more effectively communicate or a bridge you've built that we can use to cross safely, each one has served to blessed this marriage.

And to my Lord and Savior. All the Praise and Glory to Him, the giver of second chances.