the greatest ride of my life

...11 years ago this past summer, I got on a roller coaster with my soon-to-be husband. We were at Six Flags in Houston with his family. To be honest, I hated roller coasters. But I loved Seth. So I rode this terrifying ride with him, wishing it would be over as fast as possible, but secretly having fun at the same time. I wondered how could that be?

When we got off, we passed this tv screen. I stopped and stared. It was showing a slide show of pictures of people that had just been on the roller coaster. "Oh no. This cannot be good," I thought. And I was right. A picture came up of us: Seth with his hands in the air and wide smile and me--with my eyes shut tight and my hands holding on to the handlebar as tight as possible. I could hear the laughter of people who saw this picture. I was horrified.

11 years later, I am no longer horrified. I actually have a very fond memory of that day (although, I still don't like me in the picture. Yes, Seth bought it. No, I will not show it to anyone, so don't ask). Because here's the thing:

Marriage is like a roller coaster. My favorite part of the movie, "Parenthood" is when Gil's grandmother starts talking to Gil after he is complaining about his life.

Grandma: You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster...Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!...I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

You get more out of it. So true.

Seth, thank you for getting me on the roller coaster. And thank you for riding with me for 11 years. I love you so much.

Happy Anniversary.