"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… So tweasure your wuv. " One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. I thought about this line frequently over the past week, as my husband and son were in the mountains at Boy Scout camp, while I, and Daisy dog, were home. The time apart gave me an opportunity to truly reflect on marriage, the blessed arrangement, the dream within a dream...
It's easy to forget to "tweasure your wuv" when there's so much to do each day, each week. With both of us working in demanding professions, we can forget to show the other love. And while we have one child, he still takes a great deal of time, which also causes us to forget to treasure our love. But separation, total separation, reminds us that we really do love one another and how blessed we truly are.
You know the line in Sleepless in Seattle, when Sam, who's speaking to the radio doctor says, "it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together... and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home... only to no home I'd ever known... I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic"? I thought about that line the moment I met my husband. The day had been long, snowy, and cold, and the retreat we were supposed to have wasn't going well, and he came stomping into the meeting room, all six feet, six inches of him. My first thought was, "Oh great, I'm going to be here with this redneck for the weekend!!" And then we were introduced and shook hands. In that brief moment, it was like coming home. Throughout the weekend together--with plenty of others around--I felt like I had always known him; there was a comfort with him I had never found with any other guy I had met. When we participated in an Emmaus walk, I held his hands, which felt right, and looked into his eyes, and we knew...we knew we found the right one.
With my husband, The Handyman, it's those million little things that all add up...listening to him breathe at night, feeling the warmth of his body next to mine. Having the paper unwrapped and on the table before I eat breakfast. His obsession with doing our laundry. Sitting silently, companionably, next to one another and not worrying what the other is thinking. Laughing at one another's jokes.
We have a history, and it's been quite a road. We've weathered some severe life storms and emerged stronger. Each of us is imperfect, but we love that about one another. Are there parts of our personalities that frustrate each other? Naturally; two people cannot live together with complete harmony. Can we compromise or overlook those frustrations? We do our very best.
I like holding his hand still. I like when he hugs and kisses me. I like being married. This past week confirmed for me that I really like being married. Fortunately, I'm with someone who likes being married to me. For us, it's is "twu wuv".
