The Faithful

““Do I love you this much?” she’d ask us, holding her hands six inches apart. “No,” we’d say, with sly smiles. “Do I love you this much?” she’d ask again, and on and on and on, each time moving her hands farther apart. But she would never get there, no matter how wide she stretched her arms. The amount that she loved us was beyond her reach. It could not be quantified or contained. It was the ten thousand named things in the Tao Te Ching’s universe and then ten thousand more. Her love was full-throated and all-encompassing and unadorned. Every day she blew through her entire reserve.”
-          Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Just wanted to share a little essay that I really enjoyed reading today. Friends are one of life's great joys. 

Roger loves Chaz

How can I begin to tell you about Chaz? She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone, which is where I seemed to be heading.

Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz celebrate 20 years of marriage today. This article is so beautiful and perfectly written. What a love story.

 I sensed from the first that Chaz was the woman I would marry, and I know after 20 years that my feelings were true. She has been with me in sickness and in health, certainly far more sickness than we could have anticipated. I will be with her, strengthened by her example. She continues to make my life possible, and her presence fills me with love and a deep security. That's what a marriage is for. Now I know.

Bob and I were out for our anniversary dinner last night and we talked about how much we've grown in our first two years of marriage. It's amazing how we know each other so much better than we did on our wedding day. Marriage really does make you grow in a way you can't anticipate. It's so wonderful.