Guess what?

39 years ago today, Dave and I got married. In one way, it's hard to believe it's been that long; in another, I can hardly remember what it was like not to have him as a part of my life.

And it's been interesting to watch our relationship change through the years.

We were no different from any other young couple in love. We spent every available minute together, taking every possible opportunity to talk and laugh together. There weren't enough hours in the day for us to spend together; perhaps that helps to explain why we got married. We used to say we fit together like hand and glove.

In retrospect, looking back from my current vantage point, we really were rather reckless about our courtship. We met on Oct. 8, 1971. We got engaged on Nov. 8 of that same year. Our parents thought we were being precipitous when we expressed a desire to get married on Christmas Eve, not quite 3 months after we met. (Parents are so silly sometimes, aren't they?) So we grudgingly agreed to wait until June.

Would I advise anyone to get married 8 months after they met? No. Absolutely not. We were incredibly lucky.

But we've also worked to make our marriage work.

We've had our share of tough times: financial strains, job loss, cancer diagnosis, death of family members, being evacuated due to flooding, car accidents... Probably most other couples have had similar tough times, or at least tough times of similar magnitude.

We've quarreled - mostly over stupid stuff. We've hurt each other at times. Some of the things that seemed endearing early in our relationship have lost some of their charm. Occasionally, they're annoying.

Each of us has developed some new interests through the years that the other person doesn't share. While at one time we couldn't fathom wanting to be apart for any length of time, now we both have times when we want to be alone with our thoughts, if only for an hour.

But when the chips are down, we've been there for each other.I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Dave "has my back". He always has... so many times through the years, more times than I can count. There's no one on earth I feel as comfortable with. He's more than a husband; he's a very dear friend. He gives me the freedom to be myself, and he gives me encouragement to become something better.

God bless him, he even reads my blog. So I'll wrap this post up this way:

I love you, honey.