19 Years

Nineteen years ago today I was a new bride. I swear I only blinked a couple of times (maybe three at the most), and suddenly I am 42, the mother of four kids (two of whom are teenagers!), I'm living in Poland and have been happily married for nearly two decades.

When we walked across the Hohenzollern Bridge here in Cologne a few days ago we saw hundreds and hundreds of locks on the fence. This bridge has become a place for young couples to put a lock on the fence and throw the key into the Rhein River below. They are called Love Locks by the locals. Well, Myles and I realize we are not terribly young (still a little young though!), but we could not resist the sweet sentiment since we were visiting Cologne on our 19th wedding anniversary.

Some of the locks are elaborate and have names engraved. Many are simple and have names written on them. We found a simple lock, wrote our names and wedding date on it, and joined this tradition.

We went to the bridge and attached our lock and threw the keys into the river below. We'll make a dinner date later in the week since we were traveling today.

We are now home in Gdansk. We had an uneventful flight. I find it very charming that on every airplane trip we have taken in Europe, the passengers have clapped when we landed. Of course, it is a brisk 44 degrees here. We were spoiled with the weather when we were in Germany!

The words above were on our wedding invitation. Today I will say this: That day I married my friend, the one I still laugh with, still live for, still dream with, still love. Our story continues...