Today is our anniversary, my husbands and mine. We have been married 23 years, and I hope to see many more years of marriage. I feel extremely fortunate that I can tell people that I am in a happy marriage, as sadly many people cannot say that. I was married before, and I know myself how awful it is to be in an unhappy marriage, but this all changed the day I married Jim.
Jim and I have had many bumps along the way of our life together. Life does that to people, but we have figured out how to get over the obstacles that have faced us together. The happiest years of my life has been with this man, and he has taught me so much about life, as well as about myself. He and I are best friends, and actually were before we even realized that one day we would marry. I think one of the reasons our marriage has been so strong is due to honesty, trust and loyalty between us. The fact that we have so much in common has also been a great attribute in our marriage.
I think back to the day we were married, and it is still so clear in my mind, and a wonderful memory. Our wedding was small, as got married in our living room in our small apartment. Only our family and closest friends were there. We had a big part in writing our vows, and my two small children were part of the wedding ceremony. Jim had written a poem about us, and read it at the ceremony. My daughter at age 5 sang "The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow," as we felt that song reflected how we looked at life. Life can and will be hard, but the sun will still come up tomorrow. My son, age 3 had the rings to give us, and that did not go well, as he wanted to keep them and we had to force him to give us the rings. Also in the ceremony we gave the children roses as a token of family love. (The children are from a previous marriage and a few years later, Jim adopted them.) Our wedding was much different than most weddings, and we were married by a Unitarian minister. Eight months later we adopted a beautiful little baby girl, and our family was complete.
Today I am sure Jim and I will be looking once again our wedding album. We do this each year, and it always brings tears to my eyes. (It will probably bring tears to my eyes today as we look so old now compared to the pictures. LOL)
I have included the prayer which was read at the end of the ceremony, and that wonderful poem has continued to be on the top list of my many favorites. We hope to plan a large party when we hit the 25 year marriage milestone, and have the song Your Still The One, played at our Anniversary party. Ain't life grand?
Apache Wedding Blessing
Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years.
May happiness be your companion and your days
together be good and long upon the earth.
My son, age 3 had the rings to give us, and that did not go well, as he wanted to keep them and we had to force him to give us the rings.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Kids crack me up when they do stuff like this because it's just such honest innocence. I can certainly imagine him looking at you perplexed and saying "But you gave me the rings..."
Anyway, happy anniversary (belated). I'm sorry things didn't go as smooth as you had hoped but you still have each other and the family and in the end that's all that really matters.
Hugs
Daria, you are so right when it comes to my sons thinking. Explaining at the age of 3 the symbol of the rings and that he needed to give them back to us did not work. And it was innocent on him part. I actually have pictures of his sour attitude of how he was disappointed in us by taking the rings away. LOL
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, and all in all, it was a great anniversary even if it meant that we had to celebrate it later.
Hugs,
Katie