The Ride of a Lifetime.

I'm not much for amusement park rides.  As a kid, my fear of heights kept me grounded and watching from a safe distance.  This meant that one of my parents always had to stay with me and take turns with the other, riding the rides with my siblings.  As a grownup, my lack of trust in the harnesses keeps me on the sidelines for the roller coasters and anything that goes high in the air.  I love a good round-and-round ride, though!

Today is March 31st, just another day for most.  For me, it's a day that changed my life forever 24 years ago.  I was sixteen, single, silly, and a little stupid.  I was spending the evening cruising town with two of my girlfriends who were equally all of those things, too.  My friend, Kathy, was driving her parents' Toyota Previa van.  It was white and looked like an egg, but we weren't too proud to be cruising in it.  Steph was riding shotgun, and I took a seat in the middle row.  We were probably on about our 50th circle through town when we spotted this old Z-28 Camaro with three guys in it.  Kathy pulled in behind them, and the pursuit began.  They slowed to a crawl, but we stayed on their tail.  They pulled over to see who was following them, and the rest is history.  My now husband, Reuben, was the driver of that car.  All three of the guys piled into the van to join us for some cruising for the rest of the evening.  Reuben and I started dating a week later, and here we are...24 years later.

Like most relationships, ours has had its fair share of highs and lows.  In all honesty, a whole lot of lows plagued our earlier marriage.  We didn't spend as much time together as we should have, and our relationship suffered.  I can remember feeling indifferent about a lot of things.  We had started our family very young, and I was certain that I wanted my family to stay together.  Thankfully, as we grew up a little, we learned to appreciate each other more and show it to one another.  We were finally experiencing more of the highs than the lows.  Now, when I look back over the last 24 years, I see it as a roller coaster ride.  I have spent much of this ride with my eyes shut, teeth clinched, and a firm grip on the bar.  Through it all, I'm still sitting next to that same boy.  We haven't jumped off.  We haven't switched seats.  We've learned to reach for each other's hand when we need it.  We've also learned to sit back, throw our hands up in the air, and enjoy the ride with eyes wide open sometimes.  We know there will be more valleys, but we know neither of us has given up on the other through the roughest times yet.

You just never know when the course of your life might take a turn.  It might look like just another day.