Thirty-Five Years of Connubial Bliss
Today is Richard’s and my 35th wedding anniversary. It’s kind of hard to believe we’ve even been alive that long, let alone married, but when I think about it, we do have 35 years’ worth of shared memories. We’re very fortunate in that we fall more in love every year, though of course, we’ve had our tough times just like everyone. But in our experience, the lack of hard times isn’t what brings someone closer; it’s being able to navigate successfully through them to the other side, ending up with even greater trust and confidence that we’ll be able to work our way through the next, inevitable rough patch that life places in our path.
In honor of our anniversary today, I’m posting ten of the thousands of reasons I adore Richard (people who don’t care for sentimentality may not want to read any further :) :
1. Richard still has stories I haven’t heard.
2. When he wakes up out of a dead sleep, the first words out of his mouth are, “I love you.”
3. He has the cutest chuckle of anyone I know.
4. If I apologize for being so emotional/crazy/eccentric/silly/unpredictable/intense, he tells me he loves me just the way I am—no, because of the way I am—and wouldn’t change a hair on my pointy little head.
5. He sings me sweet love songs, even though he wouldn’t be able to carry a tune in a bucket.
6. He likes me in my carpenter outfit.
7. He likes me all dressed up.
8. He still thinks I’m the sexiest woman he’s ever met.
9. He likes to make me laugh.
10. He totally makes me laugh. And I love to laugh :)
Actually, there’s a number 11. Richard is a loving, affectionate man of integrity who is completely comfortable with intimacy, to whom I can talk about anything and be assured that he will listen and take me and my feelings seriously, not judge me or compare me to someone else, and respond with kindness and receptivity. I often think I must be the luckiest woman on the planet to be Richard’s sweetheart. Here’s to you, sweet Richard, and our lovely, lovely 35 years together.
Above: The Guy himself.
Update on my brother (who I think, thankfully, must have imprinted me on kind, sweet, playful men, saving me from a lifetime of chasing fruitlessly after distant, touchy, emotionally unavailable men like our dad, who nevertheless had many wonderful qualities): He made it through his operation, he is now out of the ICU, and he’s recuperating at the hospital.
Monday, June 15, 2009