24 Years and Counting

On August 4, 1984 two kids got married. Here's their story to date:

We are from New Mexico and Chicago
meeting in the middle;
from a girl afraid of marriage
and a very patient boy.

We’re from “I am afraid to trust.”
and “I. Won’t. Leave. You.”
From "Don't trust men." and
"When your husband buys new underwear it means he's having an affair."

We are from years of pulling hard to make ends meet
and at least 2 babies waiting for us in heaven.
(Are they our daughters?)
From a girl who couldn’t cook,
furniture lovingly built by a patient man,
and whisker-roughened kisses on my not-so-whiskered cheeks.

We’re from a house full of boys, camo, dirt, sweat, and noise;
from gallons of Tide Laundry Soap,
mountains of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
and Haines socks X 5.
We've lived through financial stresses,
a concussion, car problems,
emergency surgery, stitches, strange and numerous pets,
and 4 pregnancies.

We’re from fishing trips on hot, sweaty days,
camping trips where we thought we’d freeze to death
and hiking nearly every weekend every fall.

There are few traditions in our household
but love and laughter
still bounce around the rooms.

We are from
wrestling with daddy and hugging mom;
from a man who taught his sons to be gentle with
the only female in the house
and to treat her with respect.

We're from wondering if we've put too much into "them"
and not enough into "us".
By God's grace we've survived and our marriage has thrived.
I've had to learn how to respect him and he's learned to listen:
She doesn't always want things fixed?

We are from mistakes, bumbling along, prayer,
forgiveness, and determination.
The road has been filled with all the usual stuff:
joys, heartaches, stress, weariness, surprises, and
blessings beyond count.

Even though at times we drive each other crazy,
we're happy to be stuck with each other.

(This is my 3rd or 4th "Where I'm From" poem. See the December 10,2007 post if you're interested in trying one for yourself. For some reason I cannot remember how to "link" tonight and I'm too tired to try and figure it out.:-) )