That’s right, Dragons and Dragonette’s; it’s October 20th! Three years ago today, the Dragoness and I stood on the altar at Holy Name Catholic Church in her home town of Vermilion, Alberta, said “I do,” put rings on each other’s left hand…and with those outward professions and actions declared our marriage to one another. (I’d say that the priest “pronounced” us “man and wife,” but that’s not how it actually works.)

Three years, already…it seems, at times, as though they’ve raced past. Granted, having a child like Dragonlet #1, who at times seems to be the physical manifestation of motion itself, would tend to have that effect. I seem to recall that our first year or so as a married couple went by at a quite reasonable pace, in our cozy little apartment not far outside of Edmonton’s downtown core. It’s a pity we had to leave it behind, and thus leave behind the little tea shop, the ice cream shop, and all the other little places we liked to retreat to as well. (That too is an effect of having kids, at least in Edmonton; there are some properties that will refuse to rent to you. Bollocks to that, I say.)

Don’t let anyone tell you, Dragons and Dragonettes, that marriage isn’t a challenge; it most certainly is, or rather it most certainly is a series of challenges, some short-term and some ongoing. Chesterton said it best: “The whole pleasure of marriage is that it is a perpetual crisis.” Equally, however, don’t let anyone tell you that marriage isn’t immensely rewarding, and among the greatest of gifts that one can both give and receive in one’s life. At the core of marriage is giving, the giving of the totality and sum of oneself to another person, and then just that person.

Marriage is more than just a legal arrangement; at its core, it has a Spiritual quality that sanctifies and blesses the married couple, making their union into something more magnificent than just the sum of two people. Sacrifice is necessary in marriage, and the need for Honor and Honesty are absolute. Though marriage and the intimacy of a couple is not a war or a battle of wills, marriage should be approached and committed to with Valor, a strength of mind and soul that enables one to encounter everything with firm resolve. Marriage should inspire Compassion, make one thirst to both seek Justice for one’s spouse and be in all things Just with her. Marriage requires both spouses to act, toward each other, with Humility.

There must be, in other words, Truth, Courage, and Love in marriage, without question. I know, for myself, that I have not always lived up to this standard in how I have approached my marriage to my lovely Dragoness; she, on the other hand, has tended to live up to it in how she has approached me. For that, I can really only be grateful.

And I am.