24th

I have so many photos like this one, and I treasure every one of them, especially as we pause to celebrate our 24th anniversary. Each photo is a precious reminder of what a gift my husband is to me as his wife and life companion, and to our family. His faithfulness, steadfast in love and always sacrificial in terms of placing the needs of his family ahead of his own desires, is a beautiful and constant picture of Christ to me.

Last night around 8pm, after Paul finished running a meeting for our conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, I left the kids in Geneva’s care and we met up at Grimaldi’s, a pizzeria in one of our west side shopping districts. One of the perks of having your anniversary fall on a Monday is that it’s a slow night at the restaurants; there was only one other couple in the place, so it was very quiet and intimate and just lovely. We lingered over our shared pizza, Caesar salad and Pelegrino, reminiscing and marveling at how short 24 years seems, and how much we have packed into this first near quarter-century. We’ve nearly finished raising our original four (and are pretty darn happy with how they’re turning out), and yet we’ve got 7 more under the age of 10 with whom God has blessed us, and all the dizzying madness that entails. We also spent some time speculating about where we will be next year when we reach our 25th – so much can change! Our plates are full, our hearts are fuller, and we are looking forward in faith that God will continue to provide all the graces we need for what he has in store.

Deo gratias.