Today’s random prompt: What is the best thing about being either single or partnered (whichever you are right now)?

My wife and I will celebrate 33 years of marriage this month. The joke is that it has been 20 of the best years of her life, but, like all jokes, a hint of truth lies beneath the surface. It hasn’t been easy. We’ve been through some rough, dark times. We considered the alternative.

In the end, we want our life together. It’s all about that person who has your back. The one who lifts you up when you think you can’t fall any lower. Sometimes you’re cuddling while you watch a movie or listening to a podcast and all's right with the world. Sometimes you’re trying to figure out how you’re going to get through a job loss or, worse, a deep hurt.

I guess for me the best part of making it to 33 years is the resiliency. This life has not turned out as either of us imagined. If you had told us on November, 18th, 1989, that we would find ourselves living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I’d be a training consultant, we wouldn’t have believed you. That was not the plan. Not that we’ve ever been planners. We’ve sort of just held hands and jumped into whatever came our way. Riding a wave that sometimes feels like a tsunami.

But we have managed to land on our feet; our tired, aging feet. They’ve walked a lot of miles over 33 years, but it’s a path I’d happily walk again.