10 Years

So many things have changed but one remains the same.

I was 19 years old.  I had just graduated from college with a degree I wasn't sure what I could do with.  I knew I liked music but didn't know if I was really any good or if it would ever serve a purpose in my life.  I was unsure what the future would hold, not knowing much about the adult world.  I had an optimistic outlook though, and assumed everything I thought life was supposed to be would fall into place-- we would get jobs, buy a house, have babies, the white picket fence in our front yard would never show it's age.
I didn't know a lot and I was unsure about the rest-- except for one thing.

We were married for two weeks and settling into our new normal.  We made pancakes because that's what we ate on our honeymoon that we thought was delicious.  I was going to job interviews and handing in resumes all over town hoping for a job before school started for him.  We stood at the stove, both staring at the chicken because it was the first time either of us had cooked chicken.  We walked through WalMart together, counting our dollars and pennies and sticking to a strict and mandatory budget.  We ate macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles and rushed home on Thursday nights to watch The Office.
Everything was new and we were learning everything together.  I still didn't know a lot-- except for one thing.

We moved to Nebraska.  To a town we knew nothing about and knew no one.  We put an offer on our first house.  We grew as people, finding new hobbies and interests, getting involved in what was important to us.  We learned that things don't always come easy.  We experienced death, loss and the loss of something that we never even had.  We fought to expand our family harder and longer than I thought we could.  We jumped through hoops and signed on every dotted line.  We held hands, we held our breath... and we held our son.
We learned some harder lessons and sometimes I was less sure than I had ever been-- except for one thing.

15 years ago I started dating a boy with the intention of marriage.  10 years ago, at 19, I walked down the aisle of a small church in South Dakota wearing a white dress, knowing that one thing.  I knew, for a fact, without a single doubt, that I was supposed to be Jim's wife.  I walked down that aisle with full confidence that I was doing God's will.

So here is to the one who has been in my life since I was 14.  Here is to the one who learned with me, grew with me, cried with me and put up with me.  Here is to my husband and the 10 years we've had with rings on our fingers.  Here's to a many more.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart.