And I'd Do It Again

Still on vacation. Still a repeat. This one happens to be my wife's all-time favorite post. I wrote it for her on her tenth wedding anniversary last October 25th.

ONCE UPON A TIME, in a not so far and distant land, a young man awoke to the most peculiar of clicking sounds. This young man certainly was no prince and the place he called home was distinctly un-castle-like. Nevertheless, the young man would not have traded places with even the ruler of the world's greatest kingdom.

For you see, that day he was to wed the fair maiden who had claimed his heart. Lying in bed he smiled as he always did at the thought of her beautiful face. But, that peculiar clicking sound persisted, so the young man threw back the covers and slid out of his nice, warm bed in order to investigate. He shivered as he crept over to the window, which seemed to be where the clicking came from. Had he taken the time to consider what that shiver meant he might not have been so surprised by what he saw beyond the window.

But alas, his heart sank at the sight for he knew of his betrothed's lifelong dreams for today. Her desire to be wed on a pristine fall day. Cool, crisp, with a gentle breeze to stir the golden, yellow, and amber leaves. Her visions were filled with the kind of Autumn day ripe with the scent of apples ready to be picked, wheat ready to harvest, and fresh cut wood, ready to be stacked by the fireplace.

But winter had come early, for that clicking sound was sleet striking the window. Outside, every tree limb was covered in a sparkling glaze of ice. Wind, from the far frigid North howled across the land.

The young man hated that the day would not be everything he heart's desire longed for, but in truth, the weather mattered not to him. He would deliver his I Do's from atop a high mountain peak in a raging blizzard, or knee-deep in a muddy swap at the equator during monsoon, or in a fierce sandstorm in the hottest of desserts.

And later that day, inside a cozy little church, with snow falling from the heavens, and wind swirling around, and ice gleaming all about, he delivered his I Do's. As did the fair maiden.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of that blustery day, thus proving that some fairy tales do indeed come true.