Who would have thought?

30 years... a long time by any standard of measure but still seems like it has flown by in the blink of an eye. On that day, July 8, 1979, we met at the altar and had a priest, named Father Brian, declare us husband and wife. Oliver was the Catholic one and I went along because it was important to him at the time. I was doing fine until the Holy water was sprinkled on my head and decided to use the part in my hair as a trough straight to my nose, where it tickled and yes, I giggled. All of our guests thought I was caught up in the emotion of the day and crying, but no, I was giggling. Oliver was holding my hands as he was told to do in the rehearsal so I couldn't even scratch my nose. So there we were taking the vows that at the time were just words to say, with me giggling and in a form of water torture. Kinda became the setpoint of our lives. Even through the most serious of times, we have always managed to find time to giggle. It's part of who we are.

Who would have thought than when we stood there and said the words "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health," that we'd be put to the test on each word through the course of the years and still make it through? Certainly not us and certainly none of our friends. They all took bets that day and the longest odds we had were five years. To those friends we say - Gotcha! We win! Too bad most of those people we are no longer in contact with or we'd be collecting and buying that new pickup truck Oliver would love to have.I remember the trip on the way to the church. Oliver had been sweet enough to hire a limo to take my maid-of-honor, Pam, and I to the church so that we didn't have to cram into either of our small Datsun B-210's dressed in our full regalia. It was a quiet ride filled with thoughts. At one point before we made the turn to head north towards the church, I asked the driver to just take us to the airport. Cold feet were setting in and what I really wanted was to soak my toes in the nice, warm Jamaican sand. I had the honeymoon tickets in my purse. I even offered a bribe to the driver, but Oliver in his infinite wisdom (so he thought) had paid her very well to make sure I was delivered to the church safe and sound. Sigh.

Here we are 30 years later. We certainly have been through some rough times and we certainly have had a bunch of good times. We have been richer with dreams and hopes and we certainly have been poorer, down to just us living in the car. We've been blessed with healthy days and we both have had our share of caring for the other in sickness. For our 25th anniversary, it was wondering if Oliver was going to make it through the cancer scare that he had. Wondering if he'd make it until we reached the 26th. Now it's me, stuck with an incurable lung disease that has no known cause and no cure. I'm on meds that make me sick on the low doses I'm on and if by some chance I was to qualify or be able to afford a lung transplant, I would have to take these in much stronger doses. Not sure that's an option anyway. So now it's wondering if I'll make it to see the 31st, but still shooting for 50th. We'd like to at least beat the odds we were given on our wedding day by 10 times... today we reached 6 times. If you want more specific numbers, talk to Oliver... he has it calculated down to the minute, I'm sure.

We look at life differently now. No longer reaching for the golden ring but just enjoying the quiet, small things in life. Just having the other in the room and knowing that their steady breathing is still a testament to the heartbeat of life. We still love to laugh and Oliver still hates to see me cry. Our lives have always been about choices and most times we've felt we've made the right ones. Perhaps not to the eyes of the world, but to us. Would we do it all again? You betcha! Even knowing what we know now but with only one change... we would enjoy each and every moment and cherish it like it was our last because that is the main lesson we have learned through all these years. You never know what tomorrow brings. Sometimes I think back to that day and wonder how different my life would have been if that driver had taken me to the airport and I had gotten on that plane with just Pam. Some could say that the choice was made for me by Oliver hiring the limo and making sure it had locking doors that could not be opened by me in the back, but in actuality I would have still made the trek to the church where all my friends and most of my family were gathered to watch us get hitched. After all, I had done the wedding planning and we had one awesome reception planned. I didn't want to miss the party.

Oh, he had his cold feet moments too. The best man, his brother Bob, and a few of our friends were well trained in making sure he didn't wander too far from the altar. They all descended on him when he allegedly tried to go outside for a breath of fresh air. He wasn't going to be able to go any farther. We have made this journey together, one day at a time.

We've been battered and bruised but we've made it through many a storm. Our ship might be a little rougher for the wear but it's still holding tight, ready to sail the stormy seas that are ahead. We'll hit high waves and calm waters, taking turns at the helm, until the river of our lives runs dry. We know the day will come when one of us will have to carry on for awhile without the other to navigate but we know that the experience we've shared along the way will carry us through until the day the boat is docked for good and we meet again in the land called Heaven.

Today though, is a day of celebration for 30 years of marriage... who would have thought?