Celebrating 38 Years

November 22, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Thirty-eight years ago today, two teenagers stood hand-in-hand in front of a Justice of the Peace in little town Texas and quietly recited brief vows of marriage. I do, said he in a firm voice. I do she echoed without wavering.

Five minutes... Five dollars... A beginning.

Stepping out into a mild November afternoon, the couple stood on the edge of... everything. While others worried, the couple in their youth and inexperience didn't see complications. Young love looked with wide eyes and said - this is the way it's supposed to be. The reality was - there would be no parting at the end of the day to go separate ways - no - today and each day afterward would be a step in a new direction - together.

Too young, said some.
Won't make it, said others.
Have nothing, said all.

They were talking about US.

They were wrong. We didn't listen to anything but our hearts... and knew... we had everything we needed.

We don't have photos from that day... or keepsakes. It wasn't exactly a shotgun wedding but it wasn't all white roses and rice either. Ha! But we have memories. Good memories. We reveled in the freedom to be together - all of the time. Our biggest decision that day was deciding what to do with twenty-five bucks of Dad's hard-earned money - just about all the money we had to our names. So we went shopping at K-Mart for toothbrushes, chose Arby's for supper, saw some weird movie at the drive-in (I think it was Bloody Mama), spent our first night together in the Holiday Inn a few miles from where we grew up and woke together for the first time with a smile. We swapped sleepy promises of always and forever... and believed them...

So, here we are... after thirty-eight years, still proving all the doubters and naysayers wrong. Still together, still believing this is the way it's supposed to be. Still standing hand-in-hand on the edge of everything.

We can't say it's all been fun and sunshine... we can't say we haven't had tough times or weird times or times that made us question what it's all about - but true to ourselves and our hearts - every time a doubt arose, we dug deep and found our reason for being together was as strong as ever.

I think thirty-eight years ago if someone had said we would spend most of our 38th year riding a Harley together all over Colorado and the surrounding states - we would have laughed and said - why not? Perhaps in the sometimes numbing years that followed spent working and raising a family and figuring out our own identities we would have been more skeptical about such an adventure...

But today, we are all about the possibilities once again in our lives...

Darius Rucker sings in Forever Road:

Baby as our lives unfold
There’s no telling where we’ll go
But as far as I can see, it’ll be you and me
Just the way it’s supposed to be

Don’t worry baby
I ain’t no maybe
Rain or Shine
This Love of mine is for you
Let my arms remind you
I’ll always be beside you
Holdin’ on until this ride is through
So away we go, down that forever road.

We are not big travelers. You won't find us flitting through the skies on an airplane to exotic locales or lavish resorts. That's just not our style. Too many people. Too much fuss and bother. Dress codes - ugh! We do love the open road... and heading down a new road has always been our chief means of entertainment. We simply pick a direction and follow a road, getting as far as our leisure time and gas money will allow... before returning to reality. The Harley (affectionately known as The Ride) gets us to places, both physically and mentally we never suspected it would. The whole experience is very liberating. Our only regret is why we didn't do it years ago. If we could figure out how to ride all day, every day across this great land and get paid for it -- we would -- no question about it.

We have people shaking their heads again, some worried, some unbelieving, some downright incredulous. I mean, what are we doing running around on a Harley in all sorts of weather at our age? Ha! We don't mind... we've encountered that sort of skepticism often through our years. Besides, we can always smirk and point to Dad, still riding at age 73 and still married to my lovely Mom after 55 years.

So, doubters and naysayers be warned: We are riding a Harley down that forever road toward the adventure of our 39th... destination - still unknown - still together and enjoying the journey more than anyone could ever guess.
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The following video wasn't supposed to be all about the Harley... but as I browsed through the photos of our 38th year I discovered - it very possibly was the year of the Harley... as we couldn't seem to stay off of it. Enjoy then, our 38th Anniversary card to ourselves.

Celebrating 38 Years - 2009