Are we there yet?

"We'll get there." That was John's mantra for the first few years of our marriage. When we were poor as church mice, living in a house we rented from my father but wishing to have a place we could call our own, driving crappy cars that were broken more often than not, going to school in the evenings, working an insane amount of overtime, never seeing each other, using WIC to help subsidize the grocery bill, and trying to make ends meet, he'd say "We'll get there."

Sometimes I secretly wondered how.

He doesn't say that so much any more, he doesn't need to, but after all these years, if he does, I don't wonder how anymore. I know better now.

Are we "There" yet? I don't know. One of the truths that I've come to believe is that it honestly doesn't matter so much any more where "there" is, as long as we are there together.

These days we have a comfortable home of our own, cars that are for the most part pretty dependable, John has a great job that makes him happy and provides for our needs, our health, our faith, and four fantastic kids. While I realize the house and the cars are just things and not vital to our happiness, I'm still grateful for them.

Everything else is just gravy.

Maybe I'll never know where "there" is, and that's okay too. I do know that we have come a long way since we were first married, and I am grateful for those trials and experiences and I know that as long as we're together, we'll get there.

One other thing- I'm really glad I didn't take my maid of honor's offer to jump in her car and run away on our wedding day. I haven't regretted that decision for a minute.

Happy Anniversary, John. I Love You.