Today is our fifteenth wedding anniversary, a milestone that almost slipped past without either of us realising!
We have never been ones to celebrate our anniversary…being in April, we were often away on holidays anyway.
But 15 years deserves some recognition!
It sure has been a hell of a ride…when we said our vows “in sickness and in health”, we sure took them literally in the years that followed.
When I met my husband, I knew he had health issues, but it was always something that would be a problem in the future.
And for most of our first years married, all it meant was just a yearly visit to clinic as a reminder.
Then it became twice yearly….then every three months….and suddenly we were there almost daily and he was on the waiting list for a liver transplant.
It was tough times…a potentially terminal illness puts great stress on everyone.
But we handled each hurdle and bump in the road the only way we knew how….together and with a very left of centre sense of humour.
I made sure I was firmly by his side, and did all I could to get him through those long months of waiting.
And then it happened…he got that call and he got that much needed donor liver.
All of a sudden, we had a glimmer of a future….a glimmer that slowly grew stronger each day.
That was almost five years ago, and here we are…stronger then ever!
Not to be outdone, on the day we moved back into our own home a couple of years after his transplant, it was my turn.
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Thankfully, it was a brief brush which only required surgery but it did shake us up a bit….surely we had had our fair share of illness.
Time has moved on and not surprisingly, our lives are very different to what they were 15 years ago.
To start off with, we look very different to what we did back then….
We used to be out late many nights due to music rehearsals/concerts/competitions as we were involved in Melbourne’s brass band scene.
Exercise and healthly eating were sort of on our radar but not a big priority.
We were always on the go with busy social lives but never really took in what was around us…we were always on the go.
Now we are homebodies, who wake well before dawn and are asleep before most people eat their dinner.
Going through what we have totally changed our outlook on life, and it has made our relationship stronger.
We love exploring and share many of the same interests…we take the time to enjoy being alive!
We eat healthy, and exercise is very important…not just for us, but for the furkids too.
We have discovered a strong need to share our story and raise awareness about organ donation…and now do public speaking gigs together and thoroughly enjoy it.
Something we never would have even contemplated 15 years ago!
I have to say we had an absolute ball at our wedding…and we made sure our guests did too!
We had everything from a full brass band playing at a quaint coastal church, through to a double decker bus picking everyone up…even a stream train journey….yes really!
It was very us, and showed we like to do things a little differently!
I am so lucky to have found my soul mate…my best friend…to travel through the years with.
And hopefully, we will have many more trouble free years ahead!
Bring it on!
Have you celebrated a milestone anniversary lately? Share your story below as we would love to know!