In Our Wake: Two of the Sweetest Years

This last Mother's Day, Preston and I celebrated our two year anniversary. We were blessed to enjoy it while on the gorgeous coast of Oregon, in a cozy beach-front room.

It actually rained that Sunday afternoon, which left us plenty of time to curl up and reflect on our lives. Man, we are some blessed people. What are the latest stats? Less than 50% of currently married people will still be married to the same person in some number of years due to divorce? Whatever they are, the numbers are dismal. But to realize that I'm not one of those numbers brings me a deep peace.

When we got married, I gave Preston an hourglass for one of his gifts. The sand can only run if we choose to flip the hourglass over, and it's image symbolized our need every day to choose to love each other, even if we were already in love. It rests now on a little table right outside our bedroom, and we've developed the habit of flipping the hourglass over multiple times daily. Each time I flip it, I think the words, "I choose to love you." There have been times where we've sauntered late at night, tired from a long day, to our bedroom and Preston has stopped, looked me in the eye, and flipped the hourglass over. Stunning moments.

There have been a few times, too, where I've flipped that hourglass over to remind me that, indeed, I do need to choose love--regardless of the clothes on the floor or the forgotten keys or whatever it is.

That hourglass has proven to me that the ominous warnings from marriage veterans we received when we were first married--"Beware, the butterflies disappear after two years!"--don't have to be true. The butterflies might morph, but they certainly don't have to disappear.

I realize that we won't get to take a vacation on our anniversary for the rest of our lives, and so I'm grateful for the opportunities we have had. Here's a look at the last three vacations around our May 12th wedding/anniversary:

2011--Honeymoon