Friday, May 14, 2010

A Simple Walk

Five for Ten is still going strong!  Click on over to see what all the fuss is about.  The theme for today and tomorrow is "memory."

When we started dating, I didn't think it would last. I was too young, too immature.  You made me believe that we could be something more, something eternal.

After 6 months, we started talking marriage.  With butterflies in my stomach, I allowed the fantasy to ignite.  You held me entranced by the promise of forever, a future that I once thought impossible.

One Sunday, we took a walk.  We went down a street with familiar houses.  There was a particular one for sale, we stopped to grab the flier.  Within minutes we talked about what could be.  A house.  A family.  You.  Me.

I suggested an alternative--you quit the job you hate, go back to school, and we become starving college students just trying to get by.  You wistfully smile and allow yourself to think about that for a minute until reality hits.  You feel trapped by a job.

You gave me a ring with a question.  I answered, without hesitation, "Yes!"

The dream was within reach.

Months later we decided to break up.  You felt the need to embrace a higher calling for two years.  You wanted to give back to God what he gave to you.  You embarked on a mission.  Those two years would transform us--our relationship--into a force so powerful that we only wait 27 days from when you return to get married.

For two years we bickered.  We broke each other's hearts multiple times.  We learned to have faith and to trust.  In God.  In ourselves.  In us.

A culmination of 4 years together and we finally had our forever.  A covenant in a temple is said, our reflection in mirrors is looked at, and tears of joy are shed.

Almost 3 years into marriage and we remember that walk.  We are indeed poor students.  But we aren't starving.  We are full.  With life.  With children.  With each other.

You are pursuing your career of choice, I am living mine.

A simple memory, a fleeting fantasy, that is still unfolding.

Eternity.

48 comments:

  1. This is very, very precious and it brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful walk down memory lane. And that picture at the end is gorgeous!

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  2. Amber, this made my eyes fill with tears. How lovely. What a testament to the deep knowing you each had, that when he returned you were both ready to jump in. And that photograph: wow. Beautiful.

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  3. amber, i love your story...so full of emotion. what a nice way for me to start my day. i feel so lucky to have discovered your blog! :)

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  4. What an amazing photo! That's pure joy, right there.

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  5. Happy anniversary (I think it is anyway, from this post...)!! That was beautiful to read, I love your honesty. Hope you enjoy the day!

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  6. That photo says it all: Eternity.

    Beautiful story of what happens when you let go of something/someone that's meant to be with you. They come right back.

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  7. Poignant Amber. Lovely and poignant. Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed this tremendously.

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  8. Beautiful, Amber! I assume it's your anniversary?

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  9. What a beautiful love story. Love the picture too!

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  10. No. Our anniversary is in July. It was a prompt from another blog (that I forgot to link to). The prompt being "memory." Thank you, though!

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  11. How beautiful! Without the fight and struggle, it's hard to acknowledge just how wonderful the result might be.

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  12. Amber, that was truly beautiful. You have an ability to write so poignantly, so truthfully. Really lovely work.

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  13. I toured the temple in Omaha before it was dedicated and was so touched by the significance of the room of mirrors. Looking forever and ever at faces that look back and back again. I love that image. I love that you will look again into the eyes of the one you love and find a place to begin... again.

    May you continue to do so, forever.

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  14. Ooh, wow. That is a beautiful picture. It radiates joy!

    "Covenant." I love that word. It's about promise and commitment, but also the belief you were brought together by a higher power. Beautiful.

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  15. Amber, that was so, so beautiful :)

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  16. What a beautiful picture of the two of you - simply because the love you have for each other is shining from your eyes. What a beautiful post, I just love it

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  17. Beautiful words and a beautiful photo from a beautiful woman, inside and out. Thank you for another glimpse at your wonderful relationship.

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  18. What an intense and eternal walk you two are on. I think you're still walking, hand-in-hand, flanked by your children, on a journey that their children will talk about for generations.

    This made me weepy: "We are indeed poor students. But we aren’t starving. We are full. With life. With children. With each other."

    Yes. Yes yes yes.

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  19. I love that you included the less pretty parts of your walk. It all isn't romance and roses, and the bad parts are also the parts that can make us the most strong.

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  20. Wow! 27 days? When you know, you know!

    And I love the photo. WHat a cute couple.

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  21. Amber, I think that's the most beautiful post you've ever written. So powerful.

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  22. How cute are you guys btw?

    You are so fortunate to have found one another. To have embraced one another. To have fallen in love.

    This was a wonderful post. So full of YOU.

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  23. This was so sweet that it made me smile and cry at the same time. I love the pic because it is the perfect compliment to the word eternity.

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  24. What a journey you two have been on! It's amazing what we'll do for love, what we'll endure and wait for :) It's so good...
    Gorgeous photo!

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  25. Amber, I love how you help Ben to be his best self. In Judaism, when you study the actual text about the meaning of "helpmate," the wife is a force that drives the husband by believing in him, and, I'd like to think, vice versa. You have done that very well.

    What a great picture! And great memories.

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  26. Love your story, and Linda's comment. Very cool.

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  27. Beautiful story and I love that photograph. You melted my heart. I am a romantic at heart.

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  28. Lovely, and kind of you to share your love and let it ripple out, perhaps inspiring all of us to reach for the true dreams of our souls. Spiritual wealth is real wealth, it always trumps material and it also anchors the material blessings that we do get.

    It just makes me root all the harder for all your dreams to keep coming true.

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  29. It's amazing how you kept coming back together time after time. Relationships are so much more work than we like to admit sometimes but they're also so very, very worth it.

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  30. This brought me to tears. Marriage is such hard work, and you are both bringing everything to it. And living its ups and downs together.

    Thank you for sharing this lovely tale of truth and memory. And for the beautiful picture so we can see your happiness.

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  31. HI! Found you at MMB!

    Couple of thoughts:
    You look BEAUTIFUL. Love that picture.

    Also, I will help you make a button if you need some hand-holding.

    Also also, I subscribed (I think it's easier that way too!)

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  32. Gorgeous picture! and such a beautiful post as well.

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  33. What a journey; what a story. And what happy ending (which I know is still a beginning!). I'd love to read more about this, Amber.

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  34. What a beautiful, beautiful memory. You two looks so happy in that photo, like your lives are so full.

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  35. Oh Amber, amazing story. So well written!

    I too love that you included the bickering part. So very true in marriage. So much to adjust to.

    Love it girl.

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  36. What a beautiful love story...all the more so because of its honesty.

    Thanks for sharing.

    =)

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  37. Lovely, lovely. This could easily have been your post for courage, too. What courage it takes to build a life together!

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  38. That picture is so beautiful. You're both "smiling with your eyes," as my husband says, and the joy you share with Ben is palpable. And your words describe so poignantly the walk you've chosen to take together, thorny paths and scenic ones alike.

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  39. Amber, this is so beautiful. I love how you tell a story with words so simple, so sure and so full of meaning. I felt my heart break a little when you broke each other's hearts.

    And that photo is priceless. Thank you for sharing.

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  40. What a beautiful memory. I think it is awesome that you both had enough faith in god and still managed to make it back to one another.

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  41. Oh Sweet Amber. Sweet Ben. Sweet Love. I have little else to say but OH and YES and....sigh.....

    This is just so lovely. The weaving of fact with emotion. The memory of it all and here you are living the dream of a life, or the life of a dream...

    You two are beautiful. Inside. Outside. All around.

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  42. In keeping walking, the balance shall hold. Now and for good.

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  43. I meant to highlight this on my blog today, but somehow accidentally left it out. Hope you'll forgive me, just know I think you're great!

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  44. I don't know. I might hold a grudge for the next year or so. Just kidding. : ) Really, though, thank you. I kind of needed to hear this today.

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  45. Totally brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful love story. And thanks for sharing that wonderful photo. You are gorgeous!

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