You’re My Greatest Treasure

Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the day celebrating the freedom we have in this country. I’m thankful for all those who have boldly served this country so that it could be what it is today. I guess in the next few years, I’ll come to have a greater appreciation, but for today I’m happy to be celebrating with my husband, who still belongs to me and not the Navy. 😉

So how are we celebrating today? Well, as I’ve previously mentioned this week, marriage is an adventure and I’ve tried and learned so many new things from it. Today is no exception. Today, we went gold panning with some friends. I’d watched Curtis do a little panning before, but nothing like we did today. We drove out to the middle of nowhere and spent 4 hours “testing” different areas, collecting sand and gravel and sifting, watering down, and playing with the pans of gravel until they were down to sand. Sounds so fun, right?

I have to admit, I was very skeptical at first. Thankfully the weather here has cooled down because of the monsoons going through, so it was a pleasant morning. I had been told to not have high expectations, but it didn’t help when our friend pulled a decent sized piece out on his first try. But even though I barely had a few specks to show for the morning, I gained a new appreciation for my husband.  I like how even though this is such a relatively “boring” activity (almost like fishing but not as bad as golf) he still gets excited and gives it his all. While I’m very thankful that he’s not going to quit his career to do this full time, it’s fun to see him work at it and enjoy it. I love how he has so many different little interests that others our age might find odd. Most of all, I was reminded how precious our time together is, and that no matter what we’re doing, I can always find a way to enjoy it because we are doing these things together.

Before we got married, we were in a long distance relationship, and time together, whether on Skype or in person, was very valuable. Next year, we’ll start our adventure with the Navy, which will mean even more time apart. Even though it may feel like we have all the time in the world to be together now does not mean I should take any part of this for granted. Whether it means keeping electronics turned off, missing out on time with others or by myself, or anything else, I should always take advantage of this precious time I get to spend with my husband.

Once I finally remembered this, I was able to enjoy panning much more…not because of my few gold specks, but because I get to do it with my real treasure: my husband. 🙂