“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
On Friday, June 7th, Bill and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. To be honest, neither of us can believe it has been ten years. It seems not so long ago we were exchanging vows and listening to the above reading. I cannot even begin to say that in ten years we have never been irritable. And there are times when patience runs thin. We've been through a lot in ten years; sometimes it has felt too much. (Read more here.) But, we do know with certainty, that the greatest of these is indeed love.
Bill and I chose each other. We chose to be in a relationship, we chose to get married, and even now we both still feel that we choose to be together, to foster our relationship, to live our life together purposefully. And, perhaps, it is a testament to love that we do so in spite of all our flaws and quirks that certainly cause irritability. 
And so, to mark our 10 Year Anniversary, we decided to renew our commitment — this time with our beautiful Gwendolyn by our side.
On Friday afternoon we all three got gussied up in new duds and headed to the church where we were married exactly ten years ago at the very same time. As our gift to one another we decided to exchange new wedding bands and have them blessed during our renewal. Gwendolyn held our rings during the ceremony, so proud to have this important job. She and Bill walked down the aisle and then watched me follow. I cried. When we exchanged rings we said the same vows we said ten years ago. I cried again. The ceremony was simple and intimate and just what we wanted. And we were so thrilled that our priest, Rev. Mark Asman, who married us (and christened Gwendolyn) was able to officiate once again, which gave it all a sense of unity.
Gwendolyn watched intently, held our hands, and was very enthusiastic about each kiss. That was a good thing because after the ceremony we took some photos with our talented friend, Kacie, of Kacie Jean Photography, and Gwendolyn squealed to tell us to kiss — our own personal little Kiss Cam. We actually had a ton of fun taking pictures and being goofy and it definitely made us remember doing the same ten years ago.
Afterward we headed to the newly renovated El Encanto for a romantic dinner on the terrace with sweeping ocean views. Gwendolyn was with us, cuddled in blankets, still excited to be dressed up and feeling fancy. We spent the weekend talking, relaxing, cozied up by the fire or lounging at the pool reflecting and feeling thankful.
Ten years. Ten years goes mighty fast. But they have been the best ten of my life.