The Beginning of a Journey

Saturday evening I officiated Rhiannon and Andrew's wedding at the beautiful historic Bingham House in McKinney, Texas. Here are the words I shared with them and their guests:

I ask every couple a number of questions, two of which no one else can really ask without seeming judgmental, "Why do you want to get married, and why now?" Andrew's was rather straightforward: "Just being with her makes my life better... She makes me strive for more and do more... I want to marry her because I can’t imagine life without her... She is my rock when I need it. I have found someone perfect for me and I can see spending the rest of my life with her... It is the only thing certain to me in this world. I love her truly and forever. I want to marry her now because I do not ever want to take the chance of losing her because of how much I love her..."

Wow! There goes any chance of Rhiannon not messing up her makeup...

Now, Rhiannon actually says that though few couples might face the two questions I opened with, they do: "When people find out that we're engaged they usually say, 'You're both so young,' or 'You still have growing up to do.' "

Sheesh, and people say Texans can't be direct!

I like her answer, which is kind of inherent in what Andrew said: "Yes we are young, but I think that if you're lucky enough to find someone you love so deeply, can't imagine being without them for even a day, and you make each other better people, why keep searching for something that might compare or isn't out there? Life is too short."

Well, you gotta admit, that just makes good sense, doesn't it? I mean, very few people would reject a winning lottery ticket, because they were too young, right? To Rhiannon and Andrew, it's kind of simple: They have the winning ticket, and they are here to cash it in! Where is the cartoon size cardboard fake check?!

Now, we do hear about lottery ticket winners that go a little crazy, but I don't think we need to worry about these two. How do I know? Well, it goes back to what I started with: these kids understand the most important ingredient in a rewarding marriage, and dare I say a rewarding life. They understand that the journey of learning and growing does not end here. It continues unabated. Here's Rhiannon again, echoing what I quoted from Andrew before: "Although we still have much to learn, we help each other learn. Even though I was completely dumbfounded when he asked me how to put the Swiffer pad onto the Swiffer...  (the women here are genuinely laughing; the men are making a mental note to search for an explanatory video on YouTube...) I was able to help him learn something. He's always teaching... me something." 

And the best kind of learning is the learning this couple captures, and puts so well into words, learning that helps them become better adults, but encourages them to indulge their inner children. Wow, maybe, just maybe that is just what Bogie meant, when he said, "Here's lookin' at you, kid..."