Today marked my 18th wedding anniversary. Though I am typically private about such a day I found myself in a sense feeling obligated to say SOMETHING about it on my Facebook page. After all I share such profound, interesting nuggests about my life, like "having my second cup of coffee this morning," or "Monday is off to a slow start" or "just finished cleaning the kitchen - hurray!" Saying something about one of the most important days of my life felt, I don't know, necessary.
But maybe even more so than celebrating such an important milestone is that it makes me think about how long 18 years is and how much life we actually pack into that timeframe. Reflecting it seems like much more than we pause long enough to give ourselves credit for.
We didn't do much today to celebrate. Having your anniversary fall on a Monday puts a damper on any grand plans. We did go out to lunch, delicious Japanese, and we dined at a restaurant we used to go to quite frequently when we lived in the New Haven area. My husband met me there at noon and had dozen roses in hand. We devoured sushi and tempura and reminisced about the time we walked to this same restaurant during a snowstorm. It was all very sentimental, as life has been lately.
The kids came home and we cooked hot dogs. We finished summer camp forms. We picked fresh strawberries from the garden.
I pulled out the picture album from my wedding. How many people are no longer here. Some lost from our memories due to divorces or distance. Many more have pass away, one family member as recently as last week at the too young age of 61. The collage of people, places, and events is everchanging but so many constants survive 18 years.
As I received far more "happy anniversary" responses on my Facebook page, from friends old and new, I realize that as time moves forward we do remain connected in the past, present, and future. The past 18 years have been an accumulation of good and bad, happy and sad, milestone and memory. We become the composite of all that touches us. And in 18 years realize that as much as I have a lasting marriage to celebrate, I have a full, successful life.
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