19 Years

We faced unpredictable odds. Turmoil raged from within his family. His father was a tyrant and not quite stable, but he controlled it all......the business, the family, their money.

I had three kids.......a single mother, determined never to need another man. I had nothing; needed nothing.

We tied the knot and set about creating sanity from our respective chaos.

We bought a house and set about making it a home.

We added two beautiful children to our ranks.....first a girl and then a boy.

His father never acknowledged either of them until stricken with dementia a few years later. Then he called them by many different names......Veronica, Jennifer, "Boy".

His mother moved to our home; no longer able to care for herself. She spent her last six years with us. She got to know all five of our children and treated them all equally.

We buried both of his parents within four months of each other.

His father still maintains a bit of control from the grave.

All these things have shaped us. They've molded us into the people we are today.

We have much to learn and a long, long way to go.

But for today we celebrate 19 years of marriage.

He brought me flowers and a card.

I bought him a GPS so he'll always find his way back to me.

He never ventures far from home. I'm the traveler.

But that's okay.

I can simply be me.

For 19 years I've been blessed with that freedom.

I pray we have many, many more.

I've learned so much in 19 years..........

How to give, but mostly how to receive. I was never a receiver.

I hope I've taught him half as much as he's taught me

In 19 years.