13

On that first day, we recite our lines optimistically, with a smile and figurative fingers crossed for a one-sided experience: only the good stuff, please.

in sickness and in health
in good times and in bad
in joy as well as in sorrow

At first, the good stuff is all we see.

A few years later, we glimpse some of the other, and then for a while that's all we can see.

in sickness and in health
in good times and in bad
in joy as well as in sorrow

But then, we see that, like us, these are counterparts to one another. One gives meaning to the other. One places the other in context. Without one, the other loses its significance. They're two halves of a whole.

in sickness and in health
in good times and in bad
in joy as well as in sorrow

The bad stuff cannot be weathered without the foundation of the good stuff to support it. And the joy cannot be experienced fully without the sorrow to give it context.

In thirteen years of sickness and health, good times and bad, joy and sorrow, we've experienced some of it all. I cherish every moment, and especially the one who shares them with me.