In my rear view mirror; a love letter

If love is a journey then we've certainly covered many miles of hills and plains over the past twenty five years.  We've taken turns in the driver's seat and changed vehicles along the way.  We've seen dark nights and beautiful sunrises and once upon a time mountains that glowed purple in the moonlight.  I thought I'd take a moment to look in the rear view mirror.

September 3, 1983- a first date-  Tootsie-  Were we really only 15 and 16 years old?

Puppy love, break ups, make ups, break ups...

August 15, 1987- The big day.  Did we have a clue what we were getting ourselves into?

Our atlas pages go in this order:  Wheatland, Laramie, Saratoga, Grand Canyon, Farmington, Eau Claire, Laramie.

1987-  The loss of a brother- our first storm to weather.  Little did we know how much our future son would be like him!

1992- Life as we know it changed in an instant when the nurse put her in your arms.  You were afraid to hold her until that dreadful moment when the nurse advised to treat her like a football.  From then on you rarely put her down.

1995- We were just crazy enough to do it again. What a beautiful baby boy.  Our family was complete.

Jobs secured and changed, moving trucks, goodbyes to special friends- hello to new ones...

Trips with the kids, volleyball games, baseball games

Life cruised along until the car came to a screeching halt in 2009.  Cancer...

To say life changed overnight is not even close to representing what happened.  Our whole lives were turned upside down and we quickly learned what was important.

Our bank account took a hit but our memory account has grown exponentially.  

So, here we are.  Twenty five years later. We'll celebrate by marking the end of chemo.  We will jump back in the car and hit the road- anticipating bumps.  The only thing that has changed is that we will no longer count the miles ahead.  Instead we'll savor each leg of the journey as a gift and make memories as we go. 

Thanks for making the drive with me.  Thanks for sharing the view.  Thanks for not kicking me out of the car from time to time.  Thanks for making the stops along the way to rest and stretch and get reoriented.  I wouldn't have chosen any other driving partner!

Happy 25th!