Two Decades

June 20, 1992-June 20, 2012

Twenty years ago, I knelt across an altar, clasping hands with the man I had chosen to be my eternal companion.  Surrounded by our loved ones there in the temple of God, we made sacred covenants as husband and wife.  I remember how bright everything seemed, how happy everyone was and how young we looked in the mirrors that seemed to go on forever. There we were, at the very beginning of our married lives. We were joyful, we were hopeful and we were innocent as we looked ahead to our future.

A short time later found us living in Laie and attending BYU-Hawaii. R-150, Temple View Apartments (TVA) was our first home, there in the shadow of the temple where we had married.  It was housing for married couples who attended college.  As we look back at it now, we acknowledge those as some of the very best years of our lives. We were dirt poor, living off minimum wage and scholarship monies, with no car of our own. But we were surrounded by other young, married couples, all struggling to go to college, make a living and raise a young family.  We were bound together not only by proximity but by similar circumstances, goals, struggles and our testimonies of the Gospel.  There were game nights and group Family Home Evenings, outings and Culture Night, Hawaiian Club, Song Fest and Food Fest.  And finally there was graduation and our little band of friends moved on with their lives and yet, all of these years later, we remain friends, bound together by those few life-changing years on Oahu’s north shore.

We moved on with our lives, me to law school and he to graduate school. Back to town we went, from my sister’s living room to a series of addresses before we accomplished our goal of purchasing our first home.  And while we waited for the babies that didn’t come, we watched other babies grow, we pushed through graduate school, saw our careers progress and served in a multitude of callings at church. The years moved quickly on and we gained experience, wisdom, debt and thanks to late nights at Zippy’s, lots of weight! There were dart tournaments and trips to Vegas and Utah, gigs and studio and business ventures.  There were Valentine days with sparkling cider chilling in a wastebasket and years of coordinating Halloween costumes and naming Christmas trees and kisses on New Year’s. And always, always, there were friends and family to enrich our lives and provide support.

We opened our home to our parents, to two precious doggies and one day, after 14 years of waiting, we opened our home to a little three-year old angel who filled our hearts and completed our family. A short time thereafter, we found ourselves back at the temple, kneeling at an altar, clasping hands as an eternal family.

And the years. . .oh how they’ve flown by. How were we to know that they would go by in the blink of an eye? They’ve brought joy and pain, love and heartache, triumph and sorrow, accomplishment and loss, death and new life.  

And marriage. . .who knew that it would be such a challenge and a blessing? How were we to know how much we’d change and grow and how much we would hurt each other and forgive each other and accept each other and through it all, simply love each other?

Two decades ago, I knelt across an altar from the man who I had chosen to be my eternal companion. Two decades later, I humbly stand by his side as his friend, lover and partner. It has been an extraordinary journey thus far and I thank the Lord for His mercy, guidance and love.  It is with great anticipation, gratitude and hope that I look forward to the next several decades and eternity with the love of my life. 

Happy Anniversary, Fosi, I love you. Eternally Yours, Delia