Today is my 18 year wedding anniversary. It is crazy to think that my wife and I have been married that long, but when we think back through everything that we have gone through in that time, it is enough to fill a few lifetimes of what a "normal" marriage would have to endure.
My wife and I were pretty much babies when we got married and everyone told us that we wouldn't last. They had no clue how strong our love and devotion for each other was and all they saw was that we were young. They were wrong to ever doubt us.
I went active duty in the Army after we got married and a few months later, 9/11 happened. We had no clue what that meant for our future, but we knew that it was going to make things hard for us and that there was going to be a lot of time apart from each other.
Over the next 8 years that I was active duty, I spent nearly 6 of them away from my family, either deployed to combat zones, over seas, or in training. I missed holidays, birthdays, huge milestones with my children's development, and time that I will never get back with my family.
I don't think so. That time apart, all the trials that we had to endure, made us appreciate the time that we do have with each other. It made us stronger as individuals, which made us even stronger together. Sure there have been rough patches here and there, but every marriage has those, it is how you deal with them and grow that makes a marriage strong.
Now that our kids are getting older and going to be finishing up school soon, my wife and I are beginning to prepare how we will be spending the next phase of our live's together when they are in college or with their families. We have been thinking of traveling the US for a couple years in a motor home and then flying overseas to continue our travels around the world. All I know is that we will continue to live life to its fullest and spend as much time making awesome memories together.
