15 Years

15 Years

Today is our fifteenth wedding(ˈwediNG) anniversary(ˌanəˈvərsərē). 15 years ago today, my wife and I gathered with friends and family to commit to join together as a couple and family.

We met five years before we got married, and we got engaged(inˈɡājd, enˈɡājd) on Christmas Eve of 2002. I was a bit nervous about proposing(prəˈpōz), so I told the class of several hundred students that I was teaching that day about my plans in order to give me some pressure(ˈpreSHər). I kneeled(nēl) down in the snow in the middle of the PKU campus(ˈkampəs), and she said yes!

People often say that “marriage(ˈmarij) is hard”, and it’s true. Two people sharing their lives together requires a lot of communication and compromise(ˈkämprəˌmīz), and in moments that can be challenging and painful(ˈpānfəl). But it’s also a beautiful thing to work together on decisions, and to share memories that are collected over the years. We are building something together, even when we don’t know exactly what it is, and that something grows in importance and meaning as time goes on.

There used to be only two of us, and now there are four. Our boys have brought us more joy that we ever could have imagined(iˈmajən), and also challenged us to grow in new ways. With one child, it suddenly became hard to find time alone(əˈlōn), but we reveled(ˈrevəl) in watching his every move. With two children, it’s hard to find time together with each child on their own, but it’s such a gift to watch them interact(ˌin(t)ərˈakt).

We’ve had many adventures(adˈvenCHər,əd-) over the last fifteen years. I am grateful(ˈgrātfəl) for them, and I am grateful to have a partner to share adventures with in the years to come.