32 years...

Thirty-two years.

            I have been married for thirty-two years.

How can it feel like I’ve always been married, yet also feel as though the years have flown by? In the oddest celebration yet for us, Michael and I spent most of our anniversary apart, going in different directions for a shared purpose, our children.

Michael picked up the rented attire for our son Geoffrey’s wedding, and I headed to Thibodaux with Elise to get the cap and gown she’ll wear in next month’s graduation.

As we walked the narrow street on the side of  Nicholl’s bookstore, Elise was on the verge of tears when she said, “I don’t want to graduate. I don’t want college to end. I just want to put my four years on repeat over and over.”

While she was busy holding back tears, I thought of my own days on the familiar campus and all that had transpired since my own college days. Never did I imagine what the future held.

Despite the undeniable rough roads we’ve traveled, I’m grateful for my husband and each of the five children we were blessed to raise. And I really and truly mean it when I say that Michael and I had a wonderful 32^nd anniversary even though our bathtub leaked through the ceiling of the living room and we had to fix the brakes on one child’s car. We were too busy with wedding preparations to dine out and chose leftovers and takeout.  Personally, it was my favorite way to celebrate: actively involved with my children during the day, sharing our stories with Michael in the evening, storing away the memories at night, then praying for the strength to do it all again tomorrow.

With regards to our marriage, we’ve had better and we’ve had worse. We’ve endured sickness, and we’ve enjoyed health. We’ve been richer, and we’ve been poorer. And, thirty-two years later, we still meet hurdles. We still ask God for help, and He still meets us where we are, and shows us how to get to where we need to be. I pray that it will be this way, until death parts us.

Ronny may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com