A fun little capture, in writing, about our Anniversary of 24 years.

——————

24 Years

Here we are celebrating...

24 years

24 years together...

can really add up...

to something real.

Real life.

Real jobs.

Real kids.

—-6 to be exact (or more if you count the ones we’ve folded in along the way)

Real moves.

The real ones we decided together...

or even the ones we didn’t quite make.

Real Adventures.

Filled with many smiles...

that we partook in along the way

Yes. There were a few real tears

but that’s to be expected

when you’re together

—-THIS many years.

I try to always look through the lens

of our 24 years

through the lens of love

and “mostly good.”

Mostly good days...

Mostly good ways...

Many real smiles...

—even with gigantic laundry piles

Many pleasant meals...

—even with the 9,000 milk spills

Many trips

—near and far—

some with our kids,

some just together

Together we have traveled over

—-some amazing bridges.

———————-

Bridges in Japan

from our early days

Bridges in Germany

—one over the gorge

—one where the river made the rapids

perfect for the local kids to

surf on the short board

My favorite Michigan Bridges

—The Mackinac Bridge

—and the very high

Cut River Bridge

We go over that bridge

many times on the way to hike

My favorite

—-Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail

...that place that acts like a bridge for me

throughout my life

In San Francisco

I remember seeing

the Golden Gate Bridge

Then the dam-based bridge

on the way into Jinja

while in Uganda

picking up the girls

In Venice there was the series

of four bridges on the Grand Canal,

—-the Rialto stands out especially—

I remember we passed under that one

riding in a water taxi

on the way to our hotel.

I almost forgot the Brooklyn Bridge!

We walked over it with our dear friends

just last year

to share an important slice of life

as they walked to reclaim important memories

from over the years

I’m so proud of them for reclaiming WHAT IS

as an illness tries to steal.

There have been probably 1,000,000

small bridges that we have crossed

—when all added up—

Puts us RIGHT here...

Right here at...

—24 years.

Those are the type of views

I very intentionally hold on to

from our 24 years.

24 years together

of laughter with “style”

and surrounded by the beauty that I hold near

—locked in my smile

Today makes up the celebration...

that bridges us between

I DO and

—-RIGHT HERE—

at 24 years.

Love me,

—Your wife...

—of 24 years

kks

Started 7/30

Finished 8/2/2020