"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be."

Today, March 24th, the Old Salt and I are celebrating our third wedding anniversary. For most couples this would not be a milestone to write home about. But, my Frank and I are not your average newly married couple. For those of you who are new to my blog, you can check out these posts to get our history.

I became Alice sliding down an endless rabbit hole.

Life after the Wedding for Frank and Me.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Our life updated

But, here are the cliff notes. Frank and I met on Yahoo Personals. He first contacted me on Black Friday 2006. I knew from the first e-mail that he was someone special. I soon learned he had agreed to meet another woman from North Carolina over the Christmas season and realized I had to arrange for him to meet me first. Frank lived in San Diego, California and I was in the heart of Missouri wine country, about fifty miles from St. Louis. I worked nights at a big box store and was about to have my last weekend off for the next three months. I was thinking about this man honoring a commitment he made before we met and how he would go off with only a photo of me and lots of conversation to meet a real flesh and blood woman. I am normally a conservative, careful person but not this time. I called Frank and on my last free weekend took my first ever airplane trip. The rest as they say, is history. We were married the following March.

This was taken the day we first met

Three years later we have moved as many times as I did with my first husband in the 37 years we were married. We started out in my small apartment and just purchased our second house together. But, houses do not make relationships work or last, do they?

Conventional wisdom says the honeymoon part of a marriage is about one year. The Office for National Statistics says that, on average, working couples spend 2 to 2.5 hours a day together, including weekends. That is roughly 913 waking hours in one year of marriage. The old salt and I reached that milestone 57 days into our marriage because we are retired and spend almost every waking hour together. I've been told by many of the retired ladies I know that there is no way they would spend that much time with their spouse. We both worry about it and have asked each other if a break is needed or the possibility we should try to find separate interests. We both agreed that, so far, we have no desire to be apart even for a few days.

Frank and I know we embarked on this journey together in the autumn of our lives. There will be no fiftieth wedding anniversary for us or thirtieth for that matter. All we can do is try to make every day we have together as full and wonderful as we can.

Happy Anniversary darling.

Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life, for which the first was made: Our times are in His hand Who saith, 'A whole I planned, Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid! Robert Browning