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22 Thoughts on 22 Years of Marriage

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1.  Our marriage is older than we were when we got married.
2.  One of my first "love letters" to Lauren contained this line: "We go together like a buzzard and death."
3.  I realized this year - yes, only this year, after 22 years of marriage - that Lauren has the love language of "gifts."
4.  Love will cost you everything - but it gives you more back.
5.  I am horrible at celebrating things like birthdays and anniversaries.
6.  When we were dating, I wouldn't tell Lauren that I loved her till I knew I wanted to marry her.
7.  On the day I proposed to Lauren, she was planning to break up with me.
8.  I have countless failings, none of which were even hinted at in Lauren's blog post - 22 reasons why I love my husband.
9.  I am humbled and thankful to have a wife who chooses daily to see my strengths instead of focusing on my weaknesses.
10.  Lauren is my best friend and God's greatest gift to me.  I love and enjoy Lauren more today than ever.
11.  I think marriage was designed to work this way - the more you work, the longer you invest, the more deeply you experience God's grace in the heart of it all - the more you get out of it.
12.  My kids are incredibly different from each other - and each is a delight to my soul.
13.  I am so freaking proud of my kids, I could bust.  My greatest joy is that I can see the transforming work of God's grace in each of their lives.
14.  Lauren makes the best salsa ever.
15.  Lauren has always wanted 5 horses, 5 cows, and 5 chickens.  Instead, I have made her live with 7 dogs, 5 cats, some fish, 3 guinea pigs, 2 snakes, 2 doves, 1 iguana, 1 rabbit, and 1 hamster.  I am sure I missed a few more.
16.  Lauren hates snakes.  "Hates" is the right word.  She also hates lizards.  She doesn't like cats and is really only mildly tolerant of the dogs.
17.  Lauren and I love San Diego and everything Northern California.  We love the Ocean and the mountains.  We love Ireland and Northern Ireland and got to visit there in 2008 for 10 days and returned three days before the public launch of The Journey: Metro East.
18.  My favorite memory about all of those trips is simply being with Lauren while we were there.
19.  Lauren and I didn't really get along our first year in college.  We drove each other nuts.  But when I became a believer, we started meeting at 6 am to pray (she was my only friend that would meet me before my first class).  We started dating 6 months later.
20.  This is how old we were when we got married.
21.  Our first apartment was custom designed for a woman named Fee Fee who was 5' 1" tall - we are not 5' 1" tall.  That is not the only weird thing about that apartment.
22.  Lauren is beautiful and I love her.  That's all there is to it.
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Unknown said…
No comments yet! That is really sad because this is a true testament to everything valuable and beautiful in the crazy world of man and woman. congrats, both of you.
August 6, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Steve Mizel said…
Hey Tim - thanks! It continues to be a fun and crazy ride. Sounds like you are doing well on the other side of the world. I hope you are well!
August 8, 2011 at 3:15 PM
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