Saturday, January 3, 2009

33 on the 3rd


i am sitting in my cousin’s living room – looking out the picture window at a mountain full of pine and snow. i’m trying to absorb all the beauty and the wonder with my eyes. typically, we travel to northern california over new year’s to spend some time with our extended family. it’s a great chance to connect with our loved ones, and to get some much needed r & r.

our anniversary is on january 3rd, so our new year’s trip often coincides with our anniversary celebration. being in the mountains makes it even easier to enjoy some peace and solitude.

33 years is a long time, and we are both grateful that our mate stuck it out. there have been many chances over the decades to bail out. there have been times when neither one of us was easy to live with - still we’ve had a wonderful life together. we married really young, so we’ve grown up together, we’ve raised our family, and we’ve faced life’s hardships side by side.

when people find out how long we’ve been together we are often asked for our secret. i think there are several. one is that we chose to "stay”. another is that at some point we began to realize that the whole purpose of marriage isn’t necessarily to make us happy. (what? you say – not get married to be happy?) i think that marriage is designed to make us better. designed to challenge us, to press us, to teach us the meaning of sacrifice and giving and loving beyond ourselves. practicing sacrifice and giving doesn’t always make us happy. many cultures in today’s world believe that commitment is the foundation of love – not the other way around. the more i ponder on that one, the more i am inclined to agree. maybe i’m not ready to subscribe to arranged marriages, but i do think that those who do are on to something. they have a much better grasp of what marriage is for than we do. the statistics prove that those marriages are much more successful.

this year, as we pass the 33 year mark, we look at each other with gratitude. i am so thankful for the gift that gunther has given me. the gift of his lifelong commitment. the gift of faithfulness and fidelity. his gift of friendship. the gift of allowing me to be me, while at the same time we are “us”. we’re not teenagers anymore, but we’ve got a lot of mileage left. and we are both very excited as we look forward to the adventures that still lie ahead. do we “have it down”? – this marriage thing? shah – right! we’ve got a lot to learn. maybe, just maybe, we have learned enough to know that we don’t know it all. and that after all these years, we still need help from time to time.

here are some pictures from our new year’s trip to yosemite. it was a day full of wonder and incredible beauty.


the valley with bridalveil falls in the distance




el capitan new year's day 2009





winter magic


defies description doesn't it?









the halls of the ahwahnee hotel decked for the holidays



gunther loves the snow. even more, he loves it when it is snowing. can you see the glee on this man's face?


happy new year to you! (and happy anniversary to us)


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary!!xoxo

MOMMY-MOMO said...

CONGRATS! WOW! 33 YEARS! THATS CRAZY AND AMAZING! I LOVED THIS BLOG AND LOVE LOVE LOVE ALL THE PICTURES! SO BEAUTIFUL! I BET GUNTHER IS FREAKING OUT. GLAD YOU GUYS ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME. MAYBE NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE ABLE TO GO? LOVE YA BOTH!

Anonymous said...

This is awesome and a great testimony to those of us who are young and starting out! (Just celebrated our 2nd Anniversary) We have a long way to go but are both in it for the long run! Thank you and Congratulations on 33 years! Woohoo!

Love,
Alise

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary! Mike & I had a lot of fun celebrating New Year's, eating, playing Farkle, eating, and exploring Yosemite with you. (Did I mention eating?) All the best, and hopefully we will get to see you again someday!

love
mike & jen

Marlene said...

Congrats on 33 years! Your blog reminds me of the book Sacred Marriage which brings home the point "marriage is designed to make you holy, not happy." Though it is great bonus that we are happy! Happy New Year!
~Marlene

Cameron Ingalls said...

wooowho!!!! so proud of you guys! glad you had a beautiful and relaxing trip. love the pics. MUCH LOVE to you both!

Emery Jo said...

Congratulations!!! What an inspiring and truth-filled post. Thank you thank you.

-em jo :)

The Mrs. said...

Congrats on a major milestone! I totally agree. I think marriage is a choice you make everyday to stay and you have to know you will be tested!

THE WHITTINGTONS said...

just found your blog... i echo what emery said. thanks for sharing. happy 33rd!

Evolving Mommy Catherine said...

I appreciate that you wrote that commitment if the foundation of love and not the other way around...I think some people get to wrapped up in the Hollywood/romance novel version of marriage and love.

Your photos are beautiful Thank you for sharing and congrats on your anniversary!