Today Karin and I celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. I guess the 9th anniversary doesn't sound as exciting as the 10th will next year, but waiting a year to write this post is just ridiculous.
It is literally unimaginable to me to consider where I'd be today without her. So much water has flowed under the bridge, she's the rock I cling to through whatever shipwrecks I endure. I really can't say how things would have unfolded for me if I hadn't met her. There's no way it'd be any good, I can say that with absolute confidence. We're pretty independent people; we do a lot less "couple things" than most of our friends and I think it sometimes looks like we're in tangential circles - barely touching. But that overlooks the fact that she's my touchstone, the stable foundation on which everything else is built. Even if we only talk briefly on a given day that's still the spiritual center I work from - the eye of the storm I can retreat into and draw strength from to tackle whatever I face.
Of course, the thing is that I suck at expressing anything emotional (well OK - anything non-angry and emotional) and so I never express any of this to anyone. But don't go getting the wrong idea, this post draws from a deeper and truer place than everything I babble about here.
Anyway, let me wrap this up before everyone gets all sniffly on me. I just thought I'd use my bully pulpit to say something a bit more serious, do something socially valid with it for once.
Happy anniversary, Karin! I'm so glad you're beside me, through it all.