GUEST COMMENTARY: BY ANDREW COAKLEY
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The author of this brilliantly written “commentary” is better known in newspaper circles as a sports writer—at least that’s how I became acquainted with his journalistic skills. Andrew Coakley was my Sports Editor when I was Editor of the Nassau Guardian the late 1990s and later when I was Editor of The Freeport News from 2003 – 2009. He posted this excellent tribute to his wife Monique on his Facebook page, along with a collage of photos, on the occasion of their 18th wedding anniversary. It is so beautiful that I simply had to share it as a guest commentary.)
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — Here’s the thing about love and relationships – it will ALWAYS be tested! That’s the thing I didn’t understand at first. But I know better now.
When we stand before a priest, pastor, minister of licensed officiant to proclaim our vows for our spouse, we do so with much anticipation and hope of making that other person happy, helping to fulfill their dreams and hope that they would love us in return.
But in spite of our sincerity and hopes, LIFE awaits us on the outside of that church, ready to challenge every word we spoke; to put to test our commitment to those vows. Some of us survive what life throws at our relationships and, unfortunately, some don’t.
I believe the difference is KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING that our relationship imitates life and just how the world exists with seasons, so does our relationships. Most of us enter marriage hoping to live in an eternal season of spring. But the truth is, the world cannot survive with just a season of spring. There must be winter, summer and fall. Some creatures depend on the winter, some only thrive in the summer and some blossom or become their best in the fall.
As go the seasons, so go our relationships. As much as we hate it, the truth is our relationship only grows with the passing of each season. How we prepare for and adjust to those seasons will decide whether we survive or not.
After 18 years together, we’ve gone through all of the seasons of our lives. Some winters were longer than we wanted, but spring eventually showed up. Some spring times were short lived, but we reveled in them anyway, knowing that it would come back around again. Some summers were too hot to handle, but fall awaited us on the other side.
We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve been happy, we’ve been sad; we went through the frustrations, lived with expectations, had our hopes deferred, some dreams broken and some dreams have come to pass. We’ve been skinny, we’ve been fat; we’ve gone through sickness and health; we’ve been angry with each other and we’ve made up every time. Through it all, we’ve held on to each other knowing that no one season lasts always.
So, we prepare our hearts, minds and emotions to go through each season that each year brings. But more importantly, we’ve learned to enjoy each season…together.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!
