Sometimes forever seems like yesterday. It’s been 30 years since he gave me the first piece of the puzzle that would change our entire life. One white cardboard piece followed by 6 additional. And with each assembled piece on that cold and snowy Valentine’s evening, the anticipation and gravity of what these 7 perfect pieces represented came together. The bands of a ring delicately drawn with the diamond as the last inserted piece. As I completed the puzzle, his most important question flew nervously from his lips. He took my breath away that night. He was asking me to agree to forever. To forever with him. In that moment of "yes" and "I do", we were incapable of understanding what forever really meant. Two imperfect, unknowingly broken people trying to create the perfect life Continue Reading
Your Happily Ever After Marriage?
I’ve been writing in this quiet space for a few years now, and one of the topics I rarely write about is marriage. Although I am a huge advocate of marriage and believe marriage matters, I never feel qualified. Because quite frankly, I’ve never been really good at marriage. Partly because my expectations of all that would come after “I do” have not matched up with reality. Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of beautiful, magnificent moments, three amazing kids and too many furry critters to count. But there have also been hurdles and struggles sharper and more jagged than I ever imagined having the strength or will to navigate. And these have challenged my commitment and staying power so deeply, that sometimes the only thread holding this sacred union together was my/our Continue Reading