Shannon R. Brown

On August 28, 1992, a gorgeous evening in Seattle, a 20 year-old girl pledged to join her life with a very handsome 21 year-old boy. Many people thought we were nuts to make that kind of commitment at such a young age. There were even questions about the possibility of it being a shot-gun wedding situation. (Considering our daughter wasn’t born until nearly six years later, and the fact that I am NOT an elephant, I think that one has finally been put to rest.) That was 30 years ago. Impossible. There’s no way I’ve gotten that old. Right? 

30 years. 60% of my life. That’s a really long time. Was it always easy? No. It still isn’t some days. Has it flown by? That’s a bit more complicated. Anyone that’s been married a long time will understand this explanation: Some days felt like 30 years and others felt like 30 seconds. Some years seemed to drag on, while others flew by. And now here I am, 30 years after saying “I do,” completely confident that I would do it all over again. The hard stuff, the easy stuff, the fun stuff, the not-so-fun stuff, the fights and the making up, the broke times and the times of plenty. They all got us here and I’m glad to be here. I wouldn’t want to do this life with anyone other than Brown. Period. 

While I could wax poetic about all the reasons I’m still in this thing for life and considering it’s been a while since I made one of my lists (you know, the lazy writers trick), I thought it was time to compile a new one. Welcome to my Thirty Reasons for Thirty Years. (In no particular order of importance.)

1. He’s okay with my co-dependent relationship with my dog.

2. Our combined DNA and effort made for a couple of pretty great offspring.

3. He’s my favorite person to go on adventures with.

4. He understands that I need to go on plenty of adventures with my girlfriends too.

5. He likes to cook me breakfast. (Probably because he loves bacon and I always burn it, but no matter the reason, I’ll rejoice in it.)

6. He still thinks I’m cute.

7. He’s still cute.

8. He flirts with me via inappropriate emojis.

9. He mops floors, cleans the shower and irons. (He did know going into this marriage that I don’t do those things & married me anyway.)

10. He encourages me to relax.

11. He is only sometimes annoyed by my ADD tendencies.

12. He will randomly bring home flowers for me.

13. He likes to spoil me and makes me spend money on myself.

14. He has great taste in wine.

15. He can hang with the girls if they come over when he’s home, but he’s not offended when I tell him to go away when we need to kvetch and talk about lady stuff.

16. He grills the best salmon.

17. He’s always grateful for the meals I prepare and doesn’t take all the credit for supper if he manned the grill while I made the rest.

18. He’s always up for making questionable choices.

19. He treats my parents as well as he treats his own and is always willing to help them.

20. He’s always been proud of me for staying home to raise the kids.

21. He wears a uniform to work and it’s sexy.

22. He can’t complain at me for having too many clothes because he has just as many.

23. He loves to wander around Costco and “meal on the samples.” (Thanks boy child for that vernacular.)

24. He will always be older than me.

25. He doesn’t get mad when I wake him up by being too loud in the mornings. (I’m clumsy so stealth isn’t in my skillset.)

26. He pushes me to try new things.

27. He’s helped me learn to be bolder.

28. He’s a great dad, son-in-law and now father-in-law.

29. He’s always willing to help a friend in need.

30. He’s my best friend and I can’t imagine life without him.

There are many, many more reasons, but I’ll save them for the next big anniversary. 

In short, I’m grateful for this life I lead and the husband that makes it possible. Thank you Brown for loving me just the way I am. Here’s to the next 30 years!