Notes On A Marriage: Six Years On

I had plans to write a longer post than this, to reflect deeply on my wedding day, the vows I made, the significance of six whole years to the day since we both said ‘I do’.  Then, well, life happened and things just got crazy busy over the last four weeks. Lest I say, this isn’t quite the all deep and meaningful post I had in mind, but it was still important to me, to mark the sixth year since I tied the knot.

All photography of our wedding by Karen McGowran

I shared a post recently that asked what does marriage mean to you?  If you’ve not read through it yet, then I encourage you too to do so over your morning tea break today. It provides a wonderful and quite fascinating insight in to what marriage means to our diverse group of readers, and today’s modern/millennial bride. It really got me thinking, and forced me to contemplate a response to my own question.

I suppose I could waff over the good bits and the bad bits but I don’t want to bore you all – you already know life, marriage, any relationship of any kind is about learning to trust, tolerate, support, give and love.  As we grow in to our sixth year of marriage however,  I’m aware more than ever how much shared history we have and how much marriage is about shared experiences – working through life together as a unit and balancing each other out.  Helping lift the other when they’re down, knowing that you’ll have a lift when you might need it yourself.

We’ve been reminded of the impermanence and very precious nature of life very recently.  My Grandpa passed away in December – we buried him two days before Christmas.  And last month, our beloved dog Tarka went to rainbow bridge.  I’m grateful that I had someone who I’ve already been through so much with, to help me weather the storm of grief and loss in a way that only added strength and love to our marriage.

I’m thankful that I have a partner, a best friend, a lover and a confidante by my side to work through life with. It makes the journey so much more meaningful and purposeful too – for I learn every day how to trust, tolerate, support, give and love even better than I knew I could.

Just like it was six years ago, today is officially the first day of Spring – it’s a date we chose on purpose to become married, for it’s symbolic value – new beginnings and all.  Below, I share a short poem that a very close friend of ours read during our wedding ceremony.  I like to reflect on his words at this time of year and remind myself how lucky I am to have something as valuable as marriage in my life, and as wonderful as my husband by my side.

Sometimes I feel weary – there never seems to be enough time to do all I want and need to do.  The words below help to remind me stop, reflect, recalibrate and refocus in amidst the madness and chaos that can sometimes be our lives.

(Our dear friend Scott above, who read the words below during our wedding ceremony)

‘Today is Spring Equinox – the very first day of Spring. It is not by chance that Philip and Annabel chose today to celebrate their coming together in marriage and the start of a new chapter in their life. In Spring time, all of nature comes alive; the flowers of the plants breathing sweetly, give life and hope to a new beginning. Nature is stable and orderly and each Spring, the spirit of love returns, like the plants and leaves.

The power of the garden to inspire love, is expressed in this poem that was inscribed by an Egyptian Girl on a papyrus many years ago;

I belong to you, like this plot of land,
that I planted with flowers and sweet smelling herbs.
Sweet in it’s stream,
shy by your hand,
refreshing in the North Wind.
A lovely place to wonder in,
Your hand in my hand.’

(Philip grew the flowers above in our own garden. They bloomed just in time for our wedding)

Mr Beeforth, I love you with every bit of energy that I have.  You are the most loving, giving, kind, considerate and wonderful man I know, even if you drive me nuts at times 😉 The sacrifices you have made to enable me to reach my full potential has taught me so very much about love. Without you, none of this would be possible. Our marriage represents all those shared experiences we’ve been through, the history we have together and I treasure it most preciously.  Happy Anniversary my darling.

Annabel xx

 

(You can read more about my wedding here)