P.S.
I looked up 28th year wedding anniversary in the Goo and it said that this is the Orchid Anniversary. The gift this year is the Orchid which signifies many things like royalty, admiration, femininity, grace, joy, friendship, new beginnings, innocence, purity, pride, boldness, and enthusiasm. Orchids are fragrant and the vanilla flavor used to sweeten baked goods is from orchids. In the Victorian era, orchids were considered a rare flower and when given to another, were a sign of deep love. The Blue Orchid is the rarest and was a symbol of the deepest love a person could have for another.
The stone of this anniversary is the Amethyst which is the stone of protection, intuition, and cleansing. Again, many cultures see these stones as having powers for various things. Of course, the God who made all the Orchids and Amethyst is a creative God capable of forming human flesh out of dirt, so I trust that whatever He put into all of creation is beneficial in some way or another.
Even pain.
I know it has a purpose and I know very well the refining work a fire does so yes, I mean God in heaven put something beautiful that reflects Himself into everything He created.
And that brings me to 28 years.
There’s no denying that we’ve had some of the best ones together. The all-nighters at Pup’s drinking and playing pool, listening to amazing music and having some of the best conversations of my life with the guys. The “adventures” to duty stations and map reading as your co-pilot were fun. Trying new things like roller coasters at King’s Dominion and onion rings at Burger King were good firsts, as was the Luau in Lahaina and walking the beach at sunrise with you in Maui. Seeing Steven Tyler in the airport was cool, but touchng your face after every deployment was better. Holding your hand when we talked about babies was good, but watching you sled down the hill with our kids in real life snow was even better. We’ve really had some good ones!
We’ve also had some not-so-good ones like when the government told us no you couldn’t leave the ship to come home for the funeral your grandmother passed, nor when mine passed. The parking lot of WRAMC when I told you to divorce me because I couldn’t give you the babies you deserved to have. The long nights we spent talking about how opposite we are and how that is never going to work. And pretty much the past 5 years, but especially the last 14 months.
We took the vows that said, “For better or for worse”, and while 2022 wasn’t a picnic, I don’t really want to know what “for worse” really means. I think I’d like to say, “for better or for a draw” or “for better or for mediocre”, ya know?
Of course we can’t say that. Well, we could say it, but that wouldn’t make it true. So, I think I’ll focus on the part where we said, “Forsaking all others, cleave only unto you.” Yea, that’s the thing I think we’ve had the most success at. Do people even say that anymore? Do they still commit to that in their wedding vows? I know that rewriting everything to personalize it has become so popular and I even paraphrase sometimes either to simplify or memorize, but I’m pretty sure that, “forsaking all others, cleave only unto you” is one that should stay exactly as it is.
I have a feeling this is going to be another year of cleaving, and if that holds true, I’ll be thankful I have a man, husband, partner that I can cleave unto and know that we’ll be standing together through this part of the “for better or for worse” vow.
Another year of simply holding on and letting the storm come so that we can shelter one another as we move through it. Another year of “for worse”, when we just strive for a little bit of laughter and good times, while we live through the thick of it.
That’s the ultimate irony today, I know.
Paraphrasing the vows we took 28 years ago this evening in a blizzard when we were still very young and I had no idea how long I would love you, I say this:
“I will love you my whole life. You and no other.” (Braveheart)
♥as
Momma Rich's 