Vows

We went to a wedding last night, a young couple who we've come to know over the past couple of years. You know how the ceremony goes. You know the vows they are going to say.
But this time, this first time to a wedding since Sully, the vows really struck home. I pictured myself saying those same words, making those same promises to Brad 7 1/2 years ago. Our vows to each other before God, of course, meant so much to us then. But we were so young, so carefree. That's what strikes me most as I witness these two lovers promising their lives to each other, how carefree their love is. You say those words, about the good times and bad, about holding each other in joy and in sorrow, sickness and health, never knowing what is coming your way. Never would I have thought on my wedding day that Brad and I would have to hold each other through the death of a child. And so, true to Heidi form, my eyes began to tear up. Such sorrow we have known and yet, we walk in a love that has been tested, that has been through fire. And we are still here, still holding each other, living out the vows we declared when we, too, were young and carefree.