And it was just them.
The kids were in high school, and that particular day, they wanted to hang with their friends instead of coming to the family beach spot.
And so, the couple got out of their car.
There were no ice chests, no floaties, no diapers.
All they had to carry was one towel.
And together, they walked down to the very end of the beach. They scaled those rocks, laid out their towel and admired the view.
We made it.
All those years of doubting this day would ever come, they had made it to the rocks.
After years of the relentless needs. Years of being interrupted every 30 seconds with another request for a snack, a hug, a toy. Years of no time for their marriage. Years of difficult conversations, over toddler discipline and school choices. Years of arguments that are never fully resolved because someone’s crying or something breaks or someone’s hungry. Years of being so tired at the end of the day that they couldn’t even speak, and had only enough energy to lay down in bed together, turn on the TV and drift off to sleep.
The baby years had taken so much out of them.
But they made it through.
To a place where the view is perfect.
And no one is dropping peanut butter and jelly in the sand.
We made it to the rocks.
This picture was taken on our 14th wedding anniversary. I love it, because it so perfectly describes our life right now: trying to maintain focus on our marriage, despite lots of delightful kid craziness happening all around us. This phase is hard, but also so very fun. And, on the tough days, I try to remind myself: this is a season. Seasons change.
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This article originally appeared at SheJustGlows.com.
