My wife and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary today.  That’s awesome!  For that reason, I’m re-posting a memoir I wrote commemmorating that special day.

The sun blazed like an answered prayer, in my eyes, and I knew God’s smile. Mountains with blue-gray faces showed up (needing no invite) as subtle water lapped on the shore behind us. A motorboat’s putter drones on the periphery as do people holding cameras, fading in and out of positions around us like paparazzi. The soft white glow shined into a supernova, hallowing her in a matrimonial light. I squinted, dabbing the perspiration from my lips. Her gentle hand held tightly to a bouquet of idyllic roses from Ecuador. Her gentle eyes held me. Vibrant colors, a breeze, a sweetness unparalleled in this life. And the dress was not just a wedding dress, but the dress for her. Forming her and matching her in elegance and intricacy. The white cloth tapered down and reminded me of the expanse of innocence, the long road traveled but seldom found.

Vows were spoken as true words are among friends. Things that just are and will be like ships that never sink, vessels that aren’t pushed off course by violent squalls.

This memory floats along too. It sets sail without capsizing, and the undercurrent is a peace that passes understanding. That’s what I recall. An amazing, otherwordly confidence that uttered, "I do." And did. And will. The heart leaps, the blood pressure rises, the souls mingle in one flesh. And "how do I love thee?" Well, just let me count the ways…