Mr. and Mrs.

I have known this lovely young woman since she was a child.  I have known her for 17 years....since she was around 6 years old.  She is now a married woman, and though I was there and witnessed the whole thing, I still can not believe it.  I am not sure where that little girl went....and when the lovely young woman emerged.  I do know that Marissa is family to us....and with everything in me, I wish her and her new husband Dante a life full of love, peace, joy and an occasional dinner at our house.

"Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now you will feel no loneliness,
for each of you will be companionship to the other.
Now you are two persons,
but there are three lives before you: his live, her life and your life together.

Go now to your dwelling place,
to enter into the days of your life together.
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead
and through all the years may happiness be your
companion to the place where the river meets the sun,
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect,
And remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness,
gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.
When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship -
as they threaten all relationships at one time or another -
remember to focus on what is right between you, not only
that part which seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms
when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives."
~ Apache Blessing