17 Years

It's not every day that you get to celebrate such a thing.

17 years of marriage isn't a small feat.

You make the commitment to have and to hold with romance in the air and stars in your eyes. But the daily fulfilling of those vows is sometimes much more practical and straight forward. We chose each other then; that was easy. We daily choose each other now, by doing all of the little things that demonstrate love.

Love starts with passion and excitement and grows deeper with respect shown and care given.

The love I feel for my Farmboy today makes that love back then seem like a flighty thing. He has stood by me as my protector and provider and number one supporter through so many phases of life; those we endured and those we sailed through with aplomb.

And how did we celebrate? We went to a concert... with friends. Was it romantic? Yes, it really was. Because there's something to say about the friendships that we develop together as a couple. And this particular concert was extra special because it was Ray LaMontagne, my very favorite and not so much his. But he bought me hard cider and a tshirt and held my hand, and didn't bat an eyelash when I wanted to walk forward to snap some pictures for awhile. He just stayed with our chairs and welcomed me back with a smile and a "did you get any good ones?".

Yes, actually, I got a very good one. And he's a keeper.