Lucky 13
Labor Day weekend is fantastic. It's a long farewell to summer, with cookouts, beach days that turn into beach nights, staying up and sleeping in, and basking in the warmth and glow that only this season can bring. Labor Day weekend also happens to be the anniversary of when Logan and I became a couple thirteen years ago.
A few weeks ago I moved my office into another room in our home. As I was setting up my new space I came across a wooden plaque Logan made a few years ago for me. It's a simple wood square stained a dark brown, with the logo of this business chiseled into it and painted copper. Given to me on Christmas Day, it's a gift that has only grown in value. I cherish this little block of wood; it's one of my prized possessions.
I love thinking back on our first date, how Logan and I didn't kiss, but I knew that together we were something special. When I got in from our date, I fired up my old eMac and typed into my LiveJournal that I had met the man I was going to marry that night. I was so young and incredibly naive, but I also felt emboldened and was keenly aware that my instincts were talking to me. I knew my life was going to be different.
We are no strangers to struggle. Our life together has been anything but easy. We're both humans who have baggage, trying to work together through, at times, tremendous hardship, such as learning how to live as a blended family, the post-partum depression I experienced after having my second child, my mother's cancer diagnosis and treatment, and his debilitating car accident. There have been moments when we really didn't think we were going to be married any longer. That makes this anniversary, typically an unlucky number, anything but.
Each time I look at that block of wood Logan crafted, I am reminded of Logan's commitment to me, to us, and to our family. I see how he always does his very best at every task, regardless of how menial. I see that he spent time on his evenings and weekends to cut and sand and chisel, which wasn't out of obligation to give me a gift, but his love. I see his unwavering support of me and my many endeavors, including this business.
As we are stepping out from the behind the veil of even more personal hardship that lasted over a year, we are hand in hand. We are looking ahead, and focusing on our future. We are confident in who we are in a way we haven't been, which undoubtedly has come from fighting together for what's to come. Each valley we find our way through, we feel stronger and more willing to tackle the inevitable "next time" because... life.
I love Logan more than I could ever express on a blog. I love the life we have created, the highs we share, and I love that through the lows, I know he will be there, stubbornly fighting for us, and I feel beyond lucky.
Happy Anniversary, Bunny.