11 YEARS


(picture taken by Mali)

Garrison Keillor read this poem on the Writer's Almanac yesterday, our 11-year anniversary.

Realizing there are difficulties much greater and much deeper than ours, last night Mark and I recognized some of the difficulties of the last 3 years and also marveled at what this time has given us. It's been hard, at times, to see each other so little, and to realize that when we do see each other, it is hard to be present, with so many little distractions and demands around us. However, despite the difficulties, our relationship has felt strong and sure. We knew, coming into this stage of our lives, that it would have its challenges and that the challenges would be more frequent than we were used to. We have been reassured of our togetherness and have found that the tenderness of our time together carries us through. It's been a sweet 11 years. When I look back, it's just amazing to comprehend all that has happened in that short time, and most of all, the wonderful little beings that have joined our world.

From Here to There
by Brad Leithauser

There are those great winds on a tear
Over the Great Plains,
Bending the grasses all the way
Down to the roots
And the grasses revealing
A gracefulness in the wind's fury
You would not otherwise
Have suspected there.

And there's the wind off the sea
Roiling the thin crowns of the great
Douglas firs on the cragged
Oregon coast, uprooting
Choruses of outraged cries,
As if the trees were unused
To bending, that can weather
Such storms for a century.

And—somewhere between those places,
Needing a break—we climb out stiff
From our endless drive to stand, dwindled,
On a ridge, holding hands,
In what are foothills only because
The neighboring mountains are
So much taller, and there are the breezes,
Contrarily pulled, awakening our faces.