United We Ride

I've messed up plenty along the way--

Broken promises, unkept vows.

Each day is a new chance

To star over, to begin anew;

To treat my bride 

As well as she deserves--

Better.

I believe that love can overcome.

It can overcome the mistakes,

The hardships, the grief,

The stagnancy, the self-centeredness,

The fears, the resentment,

All the difficulties that creep in at times.

We make choices every day.

And choices can drive us apart

Or pull us closer together.

Often we don't realize 

What choices we are making

Until it's too late.

But I don't believe

That it has to be too late.

I can still make choices

That build up instead of tearing down.

I can make a choice each day

To not be selfish, 

But to be more giving.

Like the thunderstorm growing outside,

My wife is amazing,

Powerful, and beautiful.

And I intend to behold her reverently,

Growing together on a journey

Where the destination is less important

Than the journey together.

* * * * * * *

We didn't really get a chance to celebrate today. As soon as my wife was done with work today, she came home, we packed the car, and drove to Iowa. We're with my whole family this weekend for a belated celebration of my father's birthday: my mom got tickets for a train ride which we'll be doing tomorrow.

On the way my wife joked about celebrating at Subway. One of our first times out together in college was at Subway. And after our wedding--and early wedding with lunch--as we were on our way back to our apartment on our first night, we realized we hadn't planned for supper. And there was nothing along the way. Nothing. Just a handful of small towns, and we realized that Subway was becoming our option for food. Our only stops were for bathroom breaks and to refill the gas tank, however.  

We keep intending to do something special for one of our anniversaries--something big. More than just a night out together. A trip to Sweden was discussed at one point, but then my job got cut. Someday something will happen. 

For now we'll enjoy this weekend together with family. We'll try to fit something in during the next week or so. But I know that what how we celebrate this one day is less important than how we live each day. 

I've officiated six weddings so far. I've been through sixteen years of marriage. And I'm still learning. I wish I could go back and tell my younger self the things I know now. But marriage isn't about what we know, but about how well we implement what we learn. 

I intend to keep learning. Because I love you, Beth. Happy anniversary!