Why? Because 30 years ago tomorrow, I asked my wife Terry out on our first date. And she said yes. Total relief. I wrote about the experience (the asking and the actual date) here a few years ago.
As with all anniversaries, getting a feel for the events they mark is a matter of perspective. For me, 30 years is a heck of a long time. But for someone who has been married for 60 years, 30 isn't such a huge stretch.
Terry and I have been through a lot in those three decades, not the least of which has been marriage and five kids. And a couple of houses. And several jobs for me. Along with a multitude of pets, Christmas celebrations, movies watched, meals eaten, etc.
Those are the types of things by which we mark the cadence of life. It's not the years that matter so much as the things that fill those years, right? I know that's pretty cliche and all, but it's true.
While I revel in all of the major events in our lives, I derive the most satisfaction from my everyday existence with Terry. We fight the same battles and struggle through the same issues. The fact that we often make the wrong choices is helped greatly by the fact that we do it together. I am blessed beyond words.
Anyway, I just thought it was interesting how you can look at a major chunk of your life (say, 30 years) and simultaneously see it as being a long time AND as having flown by. Because both are true. 1986 doesn't seem like ancient history to me, but in retrospect, the intervening years have been absolutely filled with stuff. That's a lot of days crossed off the calendar, a lot of water under the bridge.
Occasionally it occurs to me that each passing day gets us a tad closer to the inevitable end of things. Not in a morbid way so much as a wistful, reflective way.
Thirty years. That's a "fur piece," as my Pennsylvania-born dad used to say, but it's also the blink of an eye. Pretty cool.
No comments:
Post a Comment