Show-and-Tell

Today I celebrate 11 years of marriage with my husband. It sounds so cliché to say "time flies," but it really does. It feels like we were just married yesterday.

Now, 11 years (including different jobs, several cities, and two children) later...we look back at our time together and feel tremendous gratitude.  

We met when I was working for a non-profit collegiate organization, and Scott was a student at Simon Fraser University. He was a volunteer for the academic group that I oversaw, and it was a no-no to "date the students." Well, after many months of pursuit (on his end, as he often reminds me), we clearly broke that rule.

We were young. He was 21 and I was 24. A couple years later, we moved to Chicago from Vancouver, BC, having no connections in the US (just each other);  we also had no idea that our first apartment was smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood with the highest murder rate. We survived the neighborhood, the frigid Chicago winters, and also the monthly panic with a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.

Our wedding was squeezed in during my spring break from the Medill School of Journalism. Our honeymoon was squeezed in after I finished my program, and before I began to hunt for my first reporting gig. 

I most likely would not have applied to Medill, and worked in TV news, if it had not been for Scott's encouragement. And I definitely would not have later pursued a new career, in YOGA, if it had not been for his unfailing support. "You are going to be an amazing yoga teacher," he said. "Go take the training, and stop worrying about what you think you're supposed to do."

He is my biggest fan. And I am his. 

We aren't perfect, but we are just right for each other. We've created some great memories. And isn't that what life is all about? It's a journey filled with moments to remember. Now we do our best to give our sons happy experiences, similar to those we had as children.

Recently, I stumbled upon the gift my younger brother, Daniel, gave us at our wedding. It's a video montage of both Scott and me growing up, and through our courtship. It reminded us that we had GREAT childhoods, that we have GREAT lives. Our parents gave us so much - they taught us to appreciate every moment, to be grateful for what we have, and most importantly, to love deeply. My family always says, "I love you" without fail at the end of every conversation. My parents still hold hands whenever possible, after almost 41 years of marriage.

While we don't need a reminder to show appreciation, gratitude and love, why not amp it up? Tell your your biggest fan, whether that be a spouse, family member, best friend, child, or [fill-in-the-blank] whoever else, just how much they mean to you. In fact, show them too. And then tell others how your life is more meaningful thanks to that special person. Let it be a grown-up version of "show-and-tell."

So for my show-and tell, I present my husband, Scott. What a great 11 years, and we're just getting started.