In a few days, I will have been married for forty years. Forty Years! As I said to my granddaughter, “I’m not even close to being forty myself yet!” Her response was a very deadpan, “Yes you are, you’re wayyyy over forty.” No matter which one of us is right (she is), forty is a very long time.
In those forty years my husband and I have faced pretty much everything life could throw at us: cancers, financial issues, miscarriage, serious health issues, marital strife and all the other stuff that pops up when you’re raising a family. We’ve had adventures where we moved from a house where everyone had their own bedroom, to an apartment where all three kids shared one room, and then to a cabin my husband built in the woods where the kids camped out in the living room.
I used to call my life a three ring circus because (with three kids) there were always three different things going on at the same time, three very loud, crazy, chaotic things. And, all three “rings” were vying for my attention at once. Because, let’s face it, no mom has ever raised kids without facing more than a few hurdles along the way. Motherhood and wifehood can feel like riding a roller coaster, one of those big ones where it goes up and down and makes unexpected turns that take your breath away and make you so dizzy you want to barf.
But, now my children are grown. My three have been joined by two wonderful sons-in-law and three and a half grandkids. And, they all pooled together and planned a beautiful dinner out at a fancy restaurant for our anniversary. The table was set in white linen with red rose petals sprinkled on top and the food was divine. We sat surrounded by all our “kids” and grandkids and looked at their beautiful faces, so happily settled in life, bonded together by their love for each other and for us. We listened to their chatter and marveled at how far we’d come from the naïve kids who got married forty years earlier.
We have survived so much pain and so many struggles. We learned so many hard lessons and there were many times we wanted to throw in the towel and give up. But, as we sat there with a gentle sunbeam shining onto the faces of our precious clan, time stood still for just a moment and it hit us: we had done it. We had survived the roller coaster.
It was a beautiful moment and tears filled our eyes as I leaned into my husband’s side and whispered, “Do you think heaven will be like this?” And, he answered, “I hope so.”
