An Abundance of Gauges

I am a fortunate person. I seem to be blessed with the means of measuring certain parts of my own progress. I don’t simply mean an increase in numbers on a paycheck, or a decrease in numbers on a bathroom scale. I have been given living and happy ways of looking at life.

Just over a decade ago I married my husband Craig. Three days prior to that happy occasion, another extremely joyous event occurred as well—the birth of our niece, Alyson. At the time I thought, "Well, I’ll never forget her birthday!" It never occurred to me that as her birthdays passed and she grew, our marriage would also progress at an equal pace—that her growth could become to me a gauge of our marital growth. In looking back it is clear that we have had our stumbling years, our obstinate periods, our trying times. We have stepped out into the world with wonder, awe, and a small measure of trepidation, much the way a growing child does. Each year brings measurable change and more strength. Our marriage has become something like growing tissue and bone, joining us more firmly together over time.

When we wed we did not give our guests small tokens of the day like a knickknack or candy. We gave each guest a small evergreen seedling. It was our hope that someday our wedding would have produced a small forest, as well as a happy couple. After the reception there were a handful of these trees left over, and my new father-in-law volunteered to look after these tiny keepsakes. That he has done faithfully, and at least once in the year I walk down and take a look at their progress. Here I have been provided with yet another gauge: after ten years these trees are still quite small, and should I use them to compare with our growth, I should say we are still positive striplings! Yet, they have flourished just as we have. They have struggled through tougher times, as we have too. They have also sunk deeper roots and made themselves a home, something we too are still doing.

Though it seems we have come a long way—and certainly we have, growing stronger every year, like our little trees and our beautiful niece—we too have much in the way of experience ahead of us. I don't believe we could have moved forward in our relationship without the same kind of loving hands that help both children and trees to grow. Without the caring guidance and assistance of our family and friends our progress could not have been so great, or measurable. That too is a gauge for me. When I am given so much love on a daily basis, and such blessings as a happy home and devoted friend in my husband, I cannot help but see that on the scale for measuring good fortune and blessings, I must be all the way at the top.