the view from up here

Celebrating our 20th anniversary has been pretty epic.  We feel that this is a great achievement, a discipline of wills and attitudes.  Like climbing to the top of a gigantic mountain and looking back at how far we've come, admiring the view from up here, breathing deeply of the fresh air.

It is at this point that I needed a little perspective I guess.  In to my little place of work walks an elderly couple.  I seated them at a table not too far from the door, he had a walker which makes navigating the small restaurant sometimes difficult.  As they settled themselves he began a conversation with me, as people often do. 

The first nugget of information he offered was that they had been married for over 60 years.  SIXTY!  YEARS!  He had been an admiral in the Navy and his ever faithful wife was always there to greet him when his ship pulled in to port.  This was a great source of pride for the man.  She brushed it aside as if it wasn't that big of a deal but it was to him.  It was everything.

And to me, looking at our 20 years of marriage and realizing that this couple has lived 20 years of marriage three times over, suddenly I am in awe.  How many memories must they have!  How many tears they must have shed together!  How often they've fallen asleep in each other's arms!  How deeply their souls must be entwined!

We have not arrived.  We have not reached the top of our mountain.  We are just at a nice little viewing platform.  We have a pretty view here but there is better up the mountain further.

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We were married on a hot summer day in Astoria, Oregon.  Two kids in love, the pastor's first wedding ceremony.  Less than a year later we moved away and have only been back a handful of times.

It is the town I grew up in. The town we fell in love in.  It will always hold a piece of my heart and forever feel a bit like going home.

So we made this trek together, back to where it all began to celebrate how far we have come.

This is the place we first met.  There used to be a little house where now only tall grass stands.  That night, after work, I drove to his uncle's house where he was staying.  I knocked on the door, unsure if this was crazy or stupid.  He opened the door and we spent hours that first night just talking and laughing.

 

 

 

Continuing recollections of our anniversary trip to come.....