Has it been that long?

Thirty years ago today, I got married . . . not in a little white chapel of LV, but in the white temple of St. George. Thirty one years ago I would never have thought in my wildest dreams (which weren't too wild) I would make Las Vegas my home. I was living in Provo, working, after graduating from BYU. Timing and kismet brought Clayton and I together mid-August. Six weeks later we were engaged -- married three months after that. What!! Ridiculous! Who does that? Only at BYU. Clay was running out of funds and needed to return to Las Vegas to attend school. Neither of us wanted to do the long distance thing, and I had a job, so . . . that sounds more practical than romantic, doesn't it . . . Hmmm.

As a newly married person, I thought couples were supposed to do things together. We tried tennis (he’s very competitive) and we tried jogging (his legs are a lot longer than mine). I thought little Miss Suzy Homemakers were supposed to make bread every week – which I did in the beginning. It didn’t take long to realize that was neither cost efficient or helpful in getting rid of the Freshman 15, Sophomore 20 . . . Senior ? weightage.

Sometimes I think the longevity of marriage is mostly due to love, commitment and some good luck. Clayton is my rock—always making my life easier. My sisters sometimes think I live a charmed life, which in many ways I do. We have had our parenting pitfalls (more like tsunamis); and even though our family is far from perfect, life has been great!

I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.

"Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested the kitchen. -- Clayton?