25 years with the Right Partner
Sometimes 25 years seem to go by pretty quickly. Certain portions of that quarter century can seem like time “crawled along.” But in the end, it’s not about the speed of time as it is the people that you take the journey with.…
Twenty-five years ago this month a very young woman completely accosted me in a hallway calling me self-centered, arrogant, and full of myself. Two things are important to note about that moment. Very few people have refuted any of those descriptions. And I fell in love.
I married that woman knowing at that moment she would be the only woman I would ever fall for. It’s a true story that led to our first date in September 1997. We were married 2 1/2 years later, just two weeks after she graduated college. I, on the other hand, was significantly older and have been accused of robbing the cradle multiple times. You can call it what you want, but I got the best end of the deal.
No one could’ve ever scripted out the things that we have gone through together. Whether it’s changing jobs in new cities or trying to have children or just the normal things life throws at you, I truly believe the two of us have never had a bad day together. I think she’d say the same.
You hear athletes and coaches comment all the time at retirement (or thereafter) that all of the accolades, titles, acknowledgments, etc. don’t matter as much as do the relationships that developed throughout their careers. I feel the same about the relationship I have with my wife. Anything that we’ve accomplished, individually or collectively, pales in comparison to the relationship that has developed over time.
It may seem trite, but when I go to bed every night, it’s the safest moment of my day. And that’s because my wife lies next to me.
I hope everyone has a relationship, at some time in their life, like ours. Maybe it’s a mentor or supervisor or a best friend or significant other or a spouse or a child…. someone who you trust with anything and everything that’s important and know that they’ll put your best interest ahead of their own. And in the worst moments of life, you know that the two of you are still good. And in the best moments of life, there’s no one else you’d rather celebrate with.
Here’s to a good 25 years. And the prayer for 25 more just like it.
