While in airports and on airplanes (and just in general, really), I tend to talk to the people around me. I find it interesting to meet different people and hear their stories and I usually hope to learn something along the way, or at least be entertained.
The Key to a Happy Marriage:
In Indianapolis this morning, I started chatting with an older couple in the security line. They were on their way to Vegas to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Since I had just celebrated my 5th year anniversary, I asked them what the secret was to a happy 40 years.
The wife told me "Patience." And to avoid thinking of and using the terms "me, mine, my, I." Good advice, although something we have all heard a time or two before.
The husband, who was a pastor, gave a slightly different take. "We made an agreement early in our marriage: whoever asks for the divorce has to take the kids." Now this makes sense to me. If you're going to break up the marriage, you have to take a bit of the punishment along with it. I'm thinking of implementing this rule with Scott.
A Surprise Visit Home:
On the ride from Phoenix to Sacramento, I sat next to a soldier who couldn't have been more than 20 years old. He had been deployed in Afghanistan, where he was an explosives engineer. After a month and a half over there, he had been shot by sniper and has been recovering in Kuwait and Germany over the past three weeks or so. This weekend, he was flying home to see his family for four days.
The touching part was that his family didn't know he was coming home. And to top it off, he was going to ask his girlfriend of four years to marry him. He reached into his greens and pulled out the ring to show me (it was very sparkly and very beautiful). You could tell he was nervous and excited.
Whenever I meet an active-duty soldier, I get a little teary-eyed and can feel the emotion catch in my chest. I think part of it is that I'm kind of a selfish person (hence, no kids) and for someone to be that self-less to put their lives in danger for me makes me emotional.
This soldier is going to be deployed again in January, and is totally excited about it. I'm sure there are going to be lots of happy tears this weekend!
A scenic drive:
My travels today ended not with a story, but with pictures. I had the most beautiful drive from Sacramento to Kirkwood, which is someplace east of Sacramento and south of Lake Tahoe. The trees and mountains were breathtaking, and I stopped a few times to take pictures, which don't do the view justice. What wonderful stories and a wonderful drive to kick off a wedding weekend!
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