15 Years

A lot of things have changed in our lives over the last 15 years.  The increasing numbers of grey hairs near my temporal region indicates that in the next 15 years things will change even more.  We have two daughters now.  We don’t eat Little Debbies as much as we once did.  We went through a Peanut M & M’s phase, but now our cravings have gone more Peppermint Pattie.  We survived Y2K.  We started out in a Queen bed, now we have one with zip codes.  We have had 8 different cars and lived in 3 houses.  There are many things about us that are similar to the people we once were, but in a very distinct way, we are nothing of the people we used to be.

In the last 15 years we have learned to laugh more.  We have learned how to laugh less at the television and laugh more at each other.  When I asked Shannon to marry me I did so because I thought I loved her and I thought I knew what it meant that I needed her.  15 years later I realize how deeply I love her and how much she really does complete me (silly movie quotes aside).  15 years later I know what it means to need her.  I am still learning how to love her.  I am having a blast with the whole thing.

Yet being married is not about what the other contributes to you, but what you contribute to the other.  I hope in the last 15 years I have shown her Christ.  I have endeavored to give her the greatest memories of her life.  15 years later I can say that I would not be who I am without her, which I would contend is a far greater version of me.  My goal for everyday we have been together is for her to be able to say the same.  I don’t want her to just love me, but I want her to love “this”, this whole thing of being married to me and how that expresses itself each day.  I want her to have a blast with the whole thing.

I love you Shannon.  You make me laugh.  You make me great.  You are what I am not.  Happy Anniversary my Sugar!