13 years ago, I took a bus ride from Onterio, OR to Wausau, WI. It took 3 days, leaving early Monday morning and arriving late afternoon Wednesday. It was a long ride. When I got off, I vowed to never to take another bus ride and I haven’t yet.
I was meeting a couple that I had met once before and they were picking me up. I was a bit nervous, for I knew it was going to be more time in the car and what would we do if we had nothing to talk about? Awkward, silent pauses in a conversation bother me. But I needn’t have worried, for the woman like to talk, as do I, and we had plenty to talk about.
We arrived at their house, a place I had been once before. There were other people at the house, some I knew and some I didn’t. We had supper and waited. And waited and waited. I was waiting for someone special. Finally, I saw the headlights of “the car”. I knew that car. I had spent many hours in that same car. But it wasn’t the car I was waiting for, even though it was the means of bringing the special someone. The car came up the driveway and I could barely wait to exit the house!
He was here! Finally here!! I almost knocked him over, I was so excited to see him. It had been several months since we had seen each other. It was long time, or at least it seemed so to me. I don’t remember what we did that evening, except I don’t think I left his side much.
The next morning, he woke we up, we had breakfast, and then we wondered into a building, which was located behind the house we were in. We were going over there to decorate a cake. Our cake,
You see, it was our wedding day,
13 years ago, I married a man who I loved. Today, I love him even more! We have done a lot in these 13 years. We’ve moved 3 times, changed jobs 4 times (his), we’ve started our own business, we’ve had 11 cars (we buy cars with cash, so they are never all that great), and we have 7 1/2 children (we have 5 months more to go for the other 1/2).
I have seen his hair go from all very dark brown to salt and pepper. He has lost his wedding ring twice, replacing it once. He has changed almost as many diapers has I have. He has laugh lines now around his eyes. And he is far more handsome now then he was then
He has seen my hair go from really thick to super thin. He has patiently suffered through the many rearranges of furniture. He has seen my weight go up and down, adding more stretch marks with each child. And he still, amazingly, still finds me beautiful.
13 years ago, I made the best decision of my life. And I would do it again in a hear beat.