Twenty years of marriage can be best explained like this:
A few days before Christmas, Ryan and I were shopping in Walmart. Not knowing what exactly to get each other for Christmas or our upcoming anniversary, we found ourselves in the pots and pans aisle, looking for something we desperately needed -- a brand new skillet -- one free of scuff marks and Teflon chunks that flake into our food.
As we browsed, a large stainless steel stock pot caught my eye. It had been badly crushed on one side -- obviously unusable -- but the sight of it immediately took me back to a past life, something from 15 years ago. I turned to the only other person I know who would also know.
"Ryan! Look!" I pointed to the pot on the shelf. "What does this make you think of?"
Ryan glanced at the pot, and I watched as his eyes lit up.
"Well, I don't know if this is what YOU'RE thinking of, but it reminds me of that grain silo on the road from Bozeman, right before the road curves toward Helena."
Nailed it.
A crushed stock pot on a shelf in a Colorado Walmart in 2018 instantly took us back to a crushed silo in circa 2003 Montana.
Such a weird thing. Soooo weird. But I kissed him right there in the middle of the Walmart pots and pans aisle.
Because what is marriage if it isn't thousands and thousands of shared experiences and inside jokes and conversations that nobody else in the world knows about but us? That's just the tip of the iceberg, honestly.
Twenty years ago today, a 21-year-old version of me walked down the aisle and tied the knot with a 20-year-old version of Ryan. We were just kids. Seriously. But when you know, you know. :-)
And now we have 20 years of life experiences together. It's honestly overwhelming to think about. All I know is that there's nothing sweeter than being married to your very best friend.
Posts
