Twelve Years Weathered

I decided to celebrate our twelve year engagement anniversary by posting a recent photo of us (two weeks ago). A photo that shows our age and flaws and imperfections. A photo that shows twelve years of weathering.

I've had so much fun with this guy. Our lives have not turned out the way we had hoped. We wanted to parent. It is still excruciatingly painful to contemplate, childlessness. However, we've been blessed to distract ourselves from our losses by learning, exploring, and traveling side by side. So here's the real, weathered us, twelve years older (and wiser too), about to enter the Little Orphan Mine in Butte, Montana. We had fun right up until the end of the tour when the guide kicked us out because she was "in a time crunch." It was hailing. And thundering. And lightning. And she just threw us out there into the elements with no regard for human life. There were young children and elderly people. Getting rained on or even hailed on was fine. Lightning, on the other hand, kills. But we survived.

The Ranger took me to an ice cave in the Pryor Mountains of Montana. Our tent blew over in a storm that night. We stopped on a dirt road the next morning, in absolute awe of all the sunflowers. Back in the park I served as his chief fire builder for evening programs. The bison have impacted our lifestyle more than we would have thought. Grizzly bears step out in front of the car. We made it to the Three Forks. And another Buffalo Jump. I think all these things show our love of learning and traveling. Our quest to spend more time together.

It would be nice to have the kind of marriage where we can live together full time. It would have been great to see his face today. At least I got to hear his voice. I would say "yes" again.