Second Anniversary

Today is the second anniversary for Kathy and me. We had lunch at Chili’s to celebrate. We had sweet ice tea and quesadillas (Kathy, chicken and bacon; me, jalapeño steak). What do I think of married life after having been a bachelor for so long? In a phrase: it’s comfortable, congenial, and a happy life. So why did I wait? The answer is that I was waiting for the right person and the right time. Kathy is the right person because she compliments my strengths and compensates for my weaknesses. My strengths can be a challenge to enumerate, but my weaknesses include being a slob in terms of tidiness and a procrastinator when it comes to such tasks as sorting through and getting rid of junk mail, keeping the house clean, dusted, and tidy. Kathy is good at what I’m bad at. I know this sounds bad, as if I’m exploiting her as a maid. But the wonder is she really enjoys doing it and makes it a vehicle of her love. And I appreciate it. She also is a forgiving person, and lord knows that also comes in handy. She remembers our first date and what we did. I remember our first kiss—it made me feel great, someone actually liked me, could even love me. The timing was right also. I never felt free to get married until I was “situated.” This involved getting the education I aspired to and a job that I enjoyed and paid well. Having arrived at this point, I was open to finding the right person. Now Kathy and I believe it was God’s will that brought us together—it was his delaying tactics as much as ours. We both have suffered from mental illness, and now both function essentially free from any signs of it thanks to medication and the grace of God. We approach our future with confidence and calm and the assurance that we are fulfilling our destiny.

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