Where Does the Time Go?

This photo is a moment in my life almost exactly 10 years ago. June 29, 1996. Tomorrow is our 10 year wedding anniversary.

It is a beautiful moment. I remember being happy, excited and scared to death all at the same time. I realize, looking back, that I had no idea what I was getting into. When I was standing in the front of that church, in my 20's, making my vows, I really didn't know what it would take to have a successful marriage. I just got lucky.

You say the words, "in sickness and in health" but you never think about suffering through intestinal parasites together. (Yes, we did.) It's not just the big things like, religion, politics and the number of kids you want to have, but the little things that you deal with every day. How will your money be spent? What toppings will you get on your pizza? Will you live paycheck to paycheck or will you work together to stay out of debt and plan for retirement? What will you do on your weekends? When you want to travel, what will you both agree on? What color will you paint your bedroom? What kind of cereal are you going to buy? What movie are you going to rent?

Over the course of a decade, thousands of decisions are made. I now realize how important it is to pick someone that you love as well as someone you can talk to and work with on many, many decisions. It is the biggest merger of your life. Business and love all wrapped into one.

I was lucky. I followed my heart and it led me in the right direction. Before I got married, I was young and naive and believed in true love. Now, I am older and more experienced and not only do I still believe in true love, I've seen proof of it first hand.

Happily ever after isn't just an urban legend after all.