The whole purpose behind me running this Awesome August series was to introduce to you some of the awesome people I've met. And I've met quite a few. However, there is one awesome person that outshines the rest. I consider myself exceedingly fortunate to not only know the most awesome person alive, but to have married her as well.In fact, awesome is an adjective wholly inadequate for describing Myra. She's awesomer than awesome! Her mere presence enriches my existence to the point that even I, a writer, can't find words to express how wonderful my life is because of her.
Over twenty-eight years ago I realized I loved this awesome woman. The day we wed I would have given my life for her. And after all these years I love her even more now than I would have ever believed possible even on that most special day.
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| A long, long, long time ago... |
She knows what I'm going to want to wear to work tomorrow. She knows when I need "Jeff time" after a long day at work. She offers encouragement and feeds my confidence like nobody deserves. She refuses to let me berate myself, countering each self-condemning statement I make with a litany of reasons why I'm wrong. She loves unconditionally and caters to me like I were a king.
Just this week at work, a coworker approached while I was on the cell phone speaking with Myra. I noticed this coworker grinning and eventually had to ask why. She told me I looked like a teenager talking with his brand new girl friend. Do I still feel that freshness, that excitement after all these years? You bet I do. I just didn't realize it was so obvious to everyone.
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| My inspiration. My life. |
Our secret is commitment.
This is not commitment for commitment's sake. This is commitment that fuels devotion, demands dedication and drives the determination required to make each moment special. It's the resolve to set one's self second.
This commitment offers an honest apology for a voice raised in frustration or a word spoken in anger. This commitment is the reminder to open her car door, the willingness to hold her purse in public. It's forgiving him for not remembering the anniversary of your first date or for forgetting to give you a kiss before he left for work.
This commitment hurts worse for the hurt of the other than for the hurt of one's self. It revels in the other's success and comforts the other's sorrows. It protects. It serves. It endures.
This is the commitment that only the most awesome people are willing to make.
My wife is awesome. I'll tell you today that loving Myra more than I do right now is impossible yet tomorrow I'll tell you that I was wrong.
Twenty-eight years of marriage and I'm still stricken by her awesomeness.
Awesome post! I can feel the love. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. Every word of it is true.
DeleteBeautiful post! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kyra.
DeleteWonderful post! Beautiful and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sara.
DeleteLife doesn't get much better than that.
ReplyDeleteNo, Richard, it doesn't.
DeleteThat is awesome! My wife finishes my sentences as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd was your wife named after Myra in the Bible?
According to Myra, she was named after an actress, but she's not sure which one. Odd seeing as how I was named after Jeffrey Hunter, the captain of the Star Trek series that didn't get picked up by network television prior to Kirk.
DeleteLove is the ultimate meaning of everything around us. It is not a simple feeling, it is the truth, it's the joy that lives in the source of all creation - Tagore
ReplyDeleteNo doubt you and your wife are a good example of these words.
Thanks, Al.
DeleteSuch a lovely post. I wish every young person in the world (or at least in this country) would read this and understand truly what love is all about.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen. There was never any doubt in my mind when I answered "I do" to the "...till death do you part" vow that nothing short of death would separate us.
DeleteWow! Actually, double wow! That is awesome. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane. :)
DeleteThis is such a beautiful post. Congratulations on your 28th wedding anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThank you Imogen, both for the compliment and for the congratulations.
DeleteI love this post so much. Congratulations on you anniversary (yeah, I'm a little late here... I have no idea how it is that I wasn't following you? bad me!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cristina. I just hate you didn't get a chance to meet my wonderful wife while you were here in North Carolina. I think you two would have hit it off well.
DeleteThank you for stopping by my blog and commenting! I very much appreciate the follow! I can't wait to hear more from you! Thank you, Jeff!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! I enjoyed the visit!
DeleteThat made me cry. Especially the purse. I decided my husband was the guy for me because he never balked at carrying my purse. He is so used to it, he grabs it when we leave places...I guess he's figured out I used to lose at least one a year.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew why the good ones leave us so soon. I guess they reach perfection and move on. The rest of us still have work to do.
Elizabeth, if Myra's purpose was to make me happy, then she accomplished that purpose perfectly. I had no idea when I wrote this post last year that it would be our last anniversary together. There is not a cell in my body that doesn't ache as a result of her absence.
DeleteI cried. Like a baby. Those ugly sobbing tears. I'm an ugly crier too. It really struck a chord with me. My husband is like you - he worships yet respects and honors me. We take for granted little things some times and it is posts like this, those that remind us of how precious life is that slap reality back into us. My soul aches for you. It knows such love and it aches for one who has lost it. I know that she is forever with you, that love like this will remain. I believe in my bones that your time together is one that reflects all that is right with marriage, companionship..with Life. Thank you for sharing her with us, for being that selfless half of a commitment, for telling the truth that it is hard, that it takes devotion, love, understanding, and forgiveness to truly accept love like this. You both are inspirations - you carry her strength with you even though se is gone. Remember that. The woman you talk about here rubbed off on you and in you her memory, her love will remain.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate this, Courtney. The only thing that changed from Aug 2, 2012 when I wrote this and July 17, 2013 when she passed away, was that I loved her even more deeply, just as I had every day I woke.
DeleteWe knew a love for 29 years that many (maybe even most) people never know for a minute. I am immensely grateful for every single one of those years, but losing her so soon hurts worse than I can convey.
Wow, what a shining example of love and commitment your marriage shows us all. This is a beautiful post. Thanks for letting us get to know her better.
ReplyDeleteTina @ Life is Good
I've even had married couples tell me that what Myra and I had was something special, something unique. I sincerely believe they were right. She could not have been more perfect for me. And though I'll always wish I could have been more perfect for her, I don't think either one of us had any serious regrets. Part of me just wishes I had known ahead of time what was coming so I could have tried to make every single day even more special.
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