A wedding anniversary…
Part of ring exchange wording…redwood themed because my husband and I both met and married in the redwoods
Like two redwoods standing close together with branches and roots intertwined, the two stand close together…mutually supporting each other as they grow.
As the years pass, Carman and Joyce will grow more and more as one, and yet still retain their individuality, like two redwoods, which grow so close to each other that their trunks and roots meld together to create a shared base…yet still, each tree has its own crown.
Forty-three years ago today, my best friend & love of my life and I committed our lives to each other in marriage. Before friends and family, we promised to grow old together and share our lives and love always. We vowed that our love would endure both stormy and rainbow filled days. We pledged to be each other’s helpmate, companion, and closest friend. Our vows included our commitment to loyalty, support, respect, and love. The promise of a love which even death would not part.
As I re-read the wedding vows, the words spoken during the ring exchange, and the songs and readings from our wedding, I am struck by how we genuinely did follow through on our commitments very well. One thing which caught my attention was the idea that we would each retain our individuality while becoming closer as one. As time has gone by, I’ve seen that in most good marriages, that process often does happen, even as it did in ours.
Once again, I am celebrating this anniversary without my beloved, because he DIDN’T keep up his end of the bargain to “grow old together” (don’t worry about me being irreverent in saying that…as Carman would smile and laugh at me teasing that way). Even so, I am grateful for our lives together, the many years as a couple then as a family. I treasure the countless memories which I still hold dear and which warm my heart like a campfire warms the body. Our marriage, though imperfect like both of us, was beautiful in its loving imperfection.
The love continues…
