It Was 20 Years Ago Today

"Love is often the fruit of marriage." -- Moliere We picked Groundhog's Day because we thought it would be easy to remember. I forget it's Groundhog's Day. Hal forgets it all. As long as he doesn't forget he's married. (And, let's face it, how could he?)
"If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles friendship rather than love." -- Michel de Montaigne
Although the plan was to marry eventually, we eloped to our backyard at sunset so that we could sign up to adopt. Otherwise, one of us would have had to move to the mobile home next door (we owned them both) and one of us would have had to apply to adopt as a single parent. Nah.
"More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse." -- Doug Larson

Funny, although marriage seemed like such a big thing and sooooo permanent, becoming parents was a no-brainer. Smartest thing we ever did. Wow. Being parents has enriched our lives beyond measure. I realize not everyone needs or wants kids, but I am forever grateful the universe placed those boys in our collective lap. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without." -- James C. Dobson
And forever grateful that Higher Power placed Hal in my path and made me irresistible to him. Ok, I admit it: I'm still pretty irresistible. Lucky, lucky Hal.
"A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year." -- Paul Sweeney
My marriage today looks so different than what I thought it was supposed to look like, and so different than what it looked like at the beginning. Twenty years is a long time, chock full of "growth opportunities" that are almost 100% the result of naivete and unrealistic expectations (thank you, Walt Disney). Good thing we were made for each other! Like instantly recognizing "our" song the first time we heard it. Only this Roy Rogers has got his old Dale.