What if this? What if that? But really, what if I missed the bus that day?
What if the bus had let him get off at his stop, and he did not have the
opportunity to make me laugh? He loves to make me laugh, and that was the
the clincher for me. I am not a happy-go-lucky person; as I like to put it, I am
not warm and fuzzy, but with him, I laugh. The elevators, the stairs the silly gestures are priceless moments that break up adulting into palatable bites.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. This is the latest mantra in our home. Life is a series of events, one impacting the other like my missing the bus that day. There was no real reason to be on the bus that day. I was within walking distance and with a mutual friend who lived with a guy I was hanging out with. He rang the bell to get off the bus, but the driver ignored him and made him stay on the bus longer. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I look back now and think those five minutes he was forced to remain on the bus changed my life. This guy who caught my attention that day was suddenly everywhere. How had I missed him? We had many of the same friends.

We had been at the same university for two years. Where had he been the whole time? I almost went to a different school. Imagine how different life would have been. It is wild how a moment or a decision can create ripples that change the trajectory of your life. These are moments we take for granted. Every choice has an impact, like those adventure books we read when we were kids. The books that gave you the choice of what pages to go to based on your chosen trajectory. Page 5, you marry the prince, page 10, you live in your parent’s basement for the rest of your life.

A bus ride changed the trajectory of my life. It gave me a life partner who is the person who has stood by me.  People stay when things are good, but you find out who has character when things are bad.  Those who remain when times are tough are the keepers.  Hold those people tight and do not let them go.  It will be 25 years married next month; it has been the good, the bad and the ugly for the past 25 years.  He is a  keeper with an abundance of character.