30 Years

So yeah, somehow 30 years have gone by. Or as my husband likes to say when people ask how long we have been married: three lifetimes.  We have three children and he has a strange sense of humor.  People generally don't know how to respond when he says that-- it makes it sound as if our marriage has been a triple-life sentence.  Actually, it's been a hell of a ride.  

I look back on the wedding pictures and can't believe how young and clueless (and thin) I was.  Fortunately, as clueless as I was I made a great choice for a life partner.  Even after 30 years, Kent  continues to surprise and challenge me.  We're still figuring out the whole empty nest thing but are rediscovering activities that had fallen by the wayside during the hectic child-raising years (watching college football, going out for drinks) and finding some new activities to share (yoga, gardening, beekeeping).  

The yoga is an excellent example of how he keeps surprising me.  He is a gifted athlete and even at 50+ years was playing volleyball and basketball with intensity until a back injury sidelined him in the fall.  Now, he is taking yoga classes to rehab the back and gamely struggling into postures that are completely foreign to him.   

Of course, his ability to shift gears like that shouldn't have surprised me.  When our youngest went from playing basketball to dancing ballet, Kent went from coaching basketball to playing a role in the Nutcracker party scene without hesitation.  Did I mention that he is a great Dad? 

We have raised three children, refurbished two houses, buried numerous loved ones, grown up, grown apart and grown back together again.  It has been a great ride and it isn't over yet.