“Marriage is the golden ring in a chain whose beginning is a glance and whose ending is eternity.”

Kahlil Gibran 

50 years ago, my husband and I had a joyous wedding then survived a leaky plane trip over a South American jungle. It was the beginning of loving and living to the fullest and supporting one another in the process.

He’s been there for me through two childbirths, knee and lower back sprains, several surgeries, learning to ski, graduate school, job searches, a ski accident, book research and writing, and so much more.

I ‘ve been there for him during job changes and major cultural moves, building projects, long drives, hikes and road races, photography excursions, shows, and exhibitions, hospitalizations, and medical challenges.

We got one another through the “terrible twos” and “trying teens” of our now-grown and perfectly likeable offspring, as well as through the sad times dealing with the deaths of all four of our parents, other family members, and close long-time friends.

The upside for us has been that our happy co-adventures have far outweighed the concerning ones. We’ve lived in three countries and several states, explored five of the seven continents, skied hundreds of downhill trails in many countries, dined in both a chateau and a wine cave, in a former caravanserai, and on a many a beach and mountain. We’ve been proud parents at graduations and sporting events. We’ve celebrated at weddings and receptions of a variety of denominations in churches, gardens, an urban industrial building, an historic beachfront hotel, a mountain home, and even right on a sandy beach.

We’ve gone zip-lining in Costa Rica, white-water rafting in Austria, tubing in Germany, walked across a swinging bridge over a ravine in Ecuador, took a cable car over a bay and several peaks and valleys to reach a giant Buddha on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, rode a cart deep into a salt mine in Austria, paddled kayaks to an island in Turkey, flew over Kauai in a helicopter, rode in a dugout canoe on the Mekong River delta in Vietnam, survived brake failure coming down a mountainside in Ecuador, and climbed to the rim of Mt. Vesuvius in Italy to look in at the fiery magma.

It’s been a long journey of commitment, but it’s been a pleasure, and the time has flown. These days, we strive not to let our ages define us, because our hearts are young, we still have dreams to fulfill, and we’re looking forward to new adventures.