Anniversary post: 33 years - how did we get here?

Amanda and Val: enjoying each other in our pre-relationship days.
I did not realize what was happening...

33 years together

💝

adventures

hikes in the woods

ice chips from the frozen lake in our martinis

cycling, roller blading, cross-country skiing, boating 

growing things, making meals, renovating homes and cottages

talking 

laughing 

loving

We were introduced by a mutual friend, probably in 1991. I was immediately struck by Val's red hair and, over time, became enamoured of many things about her, including her intellectual heft. But I was entrenched in a long-term relationship, so the time I spent with Val was just innocent fun — bowling with a group for my birthday (Dykes for Strikes, I called the event) or canoe-camping with friends in beautiful Lake of the Woods (Ontario).

And then it wasn't. 

Innocence gave way to wonder that a relationship could be so rich with potential for me, so grounded in respect of each other, and equality between us. And so lively with conversation, with talking, with sharing back and forth, with hearing each other.  

Extraction from that old relationship began, while I was finding my way into this new and exciting one, where I felt more myself than, maybe, I ever had before. 

And still do. Thirty-three years later. 

We are no longer hiking, or drinking martinis, or roller blading, cross country skiing, and boating, no longer renovating homes and cottages. Those days are done. 

But we are still growing things, making meals, talking, laughing, and we are still loving. Each other. Our life together. 

Slower. Quieter. The horizon closer. 

So life goes, as time unfolds, when love is by your side. 

And in your heart. 

One for the other. 

Steady. Sturdy. Strong. 

arthritis

cycling

growing things

making meals

writing

talking 

laughing 

loving

💝

August 31, 2026 marked 33 years together, 13 of them legally married

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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.