It's been 10 years, my love.
On this day 10 years ago, Beth Hoffman agreed to be my wife. In a cathedral of redwoods, we said our vows and she made me the luckiest man. I cannot thank her enough.
I've been thinking about our marriage a lot lately. There are many, many reasons for me to love her - her sense of humor, her beauty, her great off the cuff recipes - but it is that this anniversary comes in these times of unrest that clarifies the reason that I love her so much. That she is a great partner is self evident, but it is during the hard times that she shines.
With the troubles in our nation, she thinks of our place in it and she acts. She finds places with meaning for us to help and then pushes forward. Despite our crazy neighbor and his Trump Truck, she made a sign for our front yard that provokes thought, not outrage. In all she does, she contemplates the problem and looks for not just a solution, but a good one, one that helps in the larger picture.
To distill it, she is one of the few in this world who sees a problem, whether it is hers or not, and then begins to search for an answer.
Does this sometimes give me a headache? Most assuredly it does. But it also makes me think about my own place in this world and pushes me to be my own best version of me.
That is the best thing about Beth. She is a great person out in the world all on her own, but it is that she make me want to be a better person that makes me love her so much.
Happy anniversary, dear, sweet one. I hope we have many more decades together to spend creating the world that we want to see.
I love you.
Sweetman