I don’t know what it is but I feel like something is blocking my ability to focus on the issues of the day. In this case, focus on my 16th wedding anniversary today, and finding the beauty in this momentous event. Heck, I don’t know the exact number, but half of all marriages end in divorce, so making it 16 years should be celebrated!

We have had our bumps along this walk for sure and have had big events happen that have strengthened our marriage and have tested that strength. Taking our swings at life’s pitches have been an amazing and surprising awakening of purpose and priority, of value and desire, of forgiveness and of joy, and for the daily choice of what is most important in life.

I have been going through my daily “happiness quotient” activities this morning, writing the 3 things I am grateful for over the last day, and then concentrating and praying on one of them, and then sending a note out of the blue to someone to share my gratitude for them. Today, I sent this text to Kecia:

“Hi Lovey, I am grateful for you today: for early morning coffee in the sun or beneath the sheets, for a warm car to the train, for the aroma of dinner most nights, for the warmth of a fire and family, for the plans of upcoming adventures and for recent new ventures, and for the love that is strong after 16 years and gets deeper every day. I love you, Your honey.”

I got a text a few minutes later from Olivia, who must have read my text to Kecia, saying that “Mom is crying :-)” I am glad because Kecia is a gusher and cries when really happy or sad, and because I hopefully gave her something to focus on besides the day’s confrontations with the kids…and there were some good ones today.

Today should be about reflecting and celebrating and realizing that all of the work we do to make sense of our lives makes life better. We are not unconsciously walking through, but deliberately trying to understand, to get that Oprah “ah hah” moment, and to create the space for others to walk into the goodness of life.

When I started this passage, I felt like the clutter and cobwebs in my brain were blocking me from getting to the goodness of my anniversary, and I was not easily grasping the power and gravity of what this single day represents.  Yet pretty quickly, I was able to get to the kernel of truth and see and feel the beauty of the day and of my life with Kecia, in just a few short paragraphs. That is awesome, and I feel so happy about love, and marriage and the pursuit of living a life that is meaningful, deliberate, and full of celebrations.