Twenty Years

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of my marriage to Ann. During those years we've navigated the shoals of any healthy relationship, created two fine boys, and grown as individuals and as a couple in ways that one could never have foreseen on a frigid winter's day, twenty years ago, in Guilford, Connecticut.

So that's what I look like with hair.

I don't recall the exact temperature on that day, but it was likely in the low twenties, twenty-five comes to mind. It was windy and so sunny it hurt the eyes. I walked down to the church from our apartment near the Guilford Green.

It wasn't much warmer inside the church. Whomever took care of turning up the heat had arrived late. Even by the end of the ceremony the building was still an icebox.

Ann was late. I like to remind her of this from time to time. The limo driver was late picking her up and then he got lost on the way to the church. The day was a good lesson for life; things rarely go as planned but with the right partner it doesn't really matter, it all works out in the end.

As with most significant events the day was a blur and there are only fragments that I recall. Since then life has been extraordinary. Like most lives there are long stretches of mundane existence interlaced with moments of terror and joy that was, at the time, unimaginable. But in all of it I can look to my side and find Ann there with just the right counsel, a reassuring touch, or, when necessary, a kick in the ass. She gives exactly what's needed when it's needed.

We've had an amazing partnership; if we have half again as much good fortune for the rest of our years as we've had in the past two decades, we will be truly blessed.