The Remarkable Fullness of Living

The heat was miserable in The Old Rock House. I could feel the sweat slowly tracing lines across my forehead, and my jeans were certainly bonding to the stool I was sitting on. But as Over the Rhine played “Only God Can Save Us Now” and I caught a glimpse of my husband smiling and singing along to a song he didn’t know, I had only one thought — “my life is so full.”

Perhaps it was the act of grace that put us on the band’s guestlist, meaning the otherwise $24 a piece tickets were free. Maybe it was the story Karin told of all the folks at the nursing home where her Mom is a resident. Maybe it was the amazing quesadilla and strawberries&cream bar I’d had for dinner at the hole-in-the-wall taqueria on Cherokee St. But at that moment, I was amazed that I had the amazing fortune to be in that place with the man I am married to. I thought of friends and family and crazy drives to Kansas City for school and the folks who have woven their stories with mine… and I knew that this was life. And that even with all the obstacles and heartache and general craziness, life is still wonderful.

This week, Allyn and I celebrated our one year anniversary. The Fleur-de-Lys Mansion allowed us to come for breakfast (ad: you MUST stay at this place. The owners are fabulous and they truly have the best breakfast I’ve ever eaten — twice.), and I remarked to Dave, one of the owners, that I felt like we were just pretending it was our anniversary. There is no way that a year has passed. None. Not possible.

How can it be that I am legally related to this man I adore? That I get to spend my life with him? Perhaps Over the Rhine does say it best:
There’s nights when I mostly
Just feel like a thief
With a prized possession
A gleeful belief
That love’s both a joke
And a serious matter
…
Baby our love song must survive