15 Years

This week is full of milestones and today’s milestone is making it to 15 years of marriage.  I have always believed that getting married was the easy part, staying married a little more difficult.   I never really wanted to “be married” just based on the fact that my parent’s marriage was so troubled.  But, I suppose, if you meet the right person and think that “you can do it differently from your parents”, then why not?  And that is exactly what happened.  I met a person that could be a partner, friend, confidante, explorer and whatever else we discovered along the way.  It did not hurt that his family seemed pretty “normal”.  He had a positive, respectful relationship with his mother.  All signs pointed to a potentially long-lasting relationship. 

I don’t mean for it to sound like a business transaction, but if people thought about marriage a little more thoughtfully past the madness of “being in love”, they might be married after 72 days…I’m just saying…

And our 15 years together has brought several trips oversees, two homes, two kids, two careers that have diverged and plenty of ups and downs.  But , never, any explosive arguments or fights.  I am not saying that fighting could not be part of the equation, especially since I am a triple A personality (and Eric  is triple laid back) but it just never has been.  Could there be an element of compromise in how we approach things?  Maybe. Certainly an element of respect.  But I also believe it is an element of perspective…perspective of what is really important…what really matters.  When your perspective is in the right order, everything else falls into place.