Ten Years Ago Today
Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7:12AM
Meet Jeffrey and Marigold. They got married in an evening ceremony in Esme's bedroom a few nights ago. Fairies and farm animals attended the nuptials. Fellow dinosaurs too.
Ten years ago today, another couple of dinosaurs said "I do."
It doesn't feel quite as long as 65 million years, but I'm not gonna lie and tell you it feels like yesterday that I clutched my anxious stomach outside an Old Town cathedral and feared the worst: that Kent wouldn't be inside.
Where would I be now if he wasn't? Who would I be? It's impossible for me to even imagine.
We filled the years with backcountry adventures, big city living, small town fun. We made homes of tiny apartments and several 100-year-old houses. We adopted a hound dog, mourned lost babies and birthed nearly enough children to field a hockey team.
We loved and loathed. Each other. Caressed and pushed, consoled and shouted in frustration and rage. We cheered one another in swims across the Bay and in races along mountain roads. We marveled at the other's strength and endurance. And threw hands up in disgust at annoying habits that grate more - not less - with time.
We worked.
Anyone who tells you marriage is effortless is either spectacularly lucky or a shameful liar.
Sometimes, the daily grind of life - and love - can be anything but pretty.
So, the 10 years? They feel like 10 years. But the promises we made feel just as fresh, imperative and honest as they did a decade ago. So too the resolve. I knew what I wanted then - to spend my days with a dork with a soft heart and gentle spirit - and that hasn't changed.
I'm proud of us. Of our decade of success and struggle.
To us!
Reader Comments (3)
I dispute the word choice for "loathe."
Also, I think the following line captures much, if not all, of what has been important, "But the promises we made feel just as fresh, imperative and honest as they did a decade ago. So too the resolve."
I love you and your goddess-ness.
What a beautiful tribute to ten years.
Dana:
This was lovely. I met my husband nine years ago last week. I used to mark the day. Now it's, "Hey didn't we meet around this time?" We were married four months later. Crazy.