Thirty-Four Years ago Today ...

Thirty-four years ago today I married my best friend. I remember saying the wedding vows, "For richer and poor, through good times and bad, through sickness and health, I promise to love and cherish you from this day forward until death do us part." At the time, it was emotional to be saying those words, but the reality of what they meant had not sank in yet.

We have been through all of those vows. We have had hard times where money was tight and we pulled together and made it through to easier financial times. He was there for me when my Mom passed away and again when my Grandmother passed away. I was there for him when he lost his best friend and his parents as well. The bad times, but that makes the good times just that much sweeter and more appreciated.

Through sickness and health. I didn't realize that we would use this one quite as much as we have. He helped me through MS. He learned to clear IVs with saline solution to keep them from clotting, he learned to hook up the medications as well when I was on a five day solu-medrol run. He would have made someone a very good nurse, oh, that's right, he made ME a very good nurse. He took care of me and he still does. Some men would have ran from this responsibility, he embraced it and held to the challenge.

I am much better now, no more IVs for me! Now it's his turn to be the patient. Through sickness (or injury) and health, the full package. I find that when I am his nurse, things flow better and for that I am grateful.

I love him more today than I did the day that we said those vows, yes, even with the injury grumpiness! We are on a journey together and that journey continues. I knew from the moment that we went on our second date picnic, my three month old daughter in tow, that he was the one for me. I felt safe, loved, warm, and accepted.

I will not lie and say that there haven't been difficult times, but if you line the difficult along side of the happy times, there is no comparison.

Thirty-four years ago today I married my best-friend and I've never looked back. Thank you for always being there for me, for us. I love you.