A Constant

As I was doing the post-Christmas cleaning of my bureau, I found an envelope of old cards in my sweater drawer. I'd come across them from time to time when looking for one one of the seldom-worn tops that gets buried at the bottom, only to shuffle the folder around without opening it or reading them. This time I thought I'd look through them, expecting to find a couple written in Wilson's grade-school handwriting and a few from Joe.

There were a few from my grandmothers, signed "with oh so much love" and "love and kisses" which brought tears to my eyes. Sure enough, there were several from Wilson, some even pre-preschool, filled out by Joe. And then there was a stack from Joe, which dated back to our pre-marriage days. If these cards had been cars they would be classified as antiques!

Reading through them brought back so many of the memories that lie buried in the recesses of my mind. Yes, we have a long history together- twenty-some-odd years. There were a few cards from when we first started dating, containing simple words but sincere and sweet sentiments. Somehow, 20 years later they have even more meaning to me than they did at the time- and they did mean a lot back then! They weren't merely nice words written in a romantic moment- when Joe says something, he truly means it and that is a constant I've always been able to count on.

We were so young! Twenty-three and twenty-five years old when we got together. We jumped into marriage with both feet, not hesitating even for a moment. Family started, we were working 7 days a week between the 2 of us, not able to spend much time together. We bought a house, fixed it up, raised Wilson, worked and managed to have lots of good times and a few bad sprinkled in here and there. Ingredients tossed into a pot that make up the stew that is life - a rich and tasty stew that I savor every single day.

Looking back, I feel so lucky to have picked him for my mate. What the hell did I know at 23? Throughout all our lives we evolve, change and grow. I am blessed that we have been able to learn and grow from each other and that somehow, we have stayed in sync. Through thick and think, good times and bad, sickness and health he sticks with me. I am truly the luckiest woman in the world to have found the perfect person for me to go through life with. I guess that is truly what the definition of a soulmate is.