25 Comments

  1. Happy Anniversary! Love continually keeping up on your blog & cannot tell you enough how much I enjoy your honesty in writing. I also enjoy reading about other couples that have had similar experiences as my boyfriend & I have had. What a beautiful world we live in~ Thanks for your eloquent words & Happy Anniversary again~

    • gracefulfitness

      Stef, thanks so much for the kind words, it’s really nice to know that what you put out there is being taken in as you intend.

  2. With the return of electric service, I sorted through 125 emails to find your postings. How pleased I am for both of you and our family to honor the partnership and marriage of you and Tate. I was likely a visitor in all but the school bus, and know your homes are always welcoming. Congrats

  3. oh i just love this post. what an exciting adventure your marriage and relationship has been. i feel a lot like you do about marriage. my first time around i got married very young to the wrong person. once i met Bill my present husband i was pretty much done with marriage. for me it did not make sense. but eventually we ran off to the courthouse and got married-just the two of us. it was very spur of the moment and romantic. i am so happy for the two of you! btw looks like you threw a great baby shower for kath 🙂

    • gracefulfitness

      Thanks Kalli, I wasn’t sure how my views would be received so I appreciate the feedback that it resonated with you. Thrilled for you that you found a wonderful man to have a wonderful marriage with. 🙂

  4. Kimberly

    Congratulations on the 5 years! Thank you for sticking your neck out in support of same-sex marriage, too!

  5. Happy anniversary, Faith!
    And what a great story – so full of adventure!

    Love that last photo of the two of you (the B&W one). The word that immediately comes to my mind seeing that photo is “content”. Like a quiet contentment that comes from being with the person you love and KNOWING that that person is the one. Marriage or not. 😉

    I appreciate your honest views on marriage as an institution. As someone who has experienced the institution and the rites of marriage not once, but THREE times (To the same guy, by the way! We had a legal exchange of vows, followed by a Catholic ceremony months later and then a Hindu ceremony, believe it or not… both our families are religious), what truly marked “marriage” for me was our decision to commit to each other. And sometimes it’s the unexpected experiences – like the time I rushed him to the emergency room (we were not even engaged then) and spent the night in the hospital. There was no institution of marriage involved there, but I certainly felt committed to be by his side 100%! Interestingly enough, what really made me feel the most “married” was our least-traditional wedding (the first one) as that was the one that was purely for the two of us and not anyone else. It felt the least “institutional” among our other ceremonies, and that was when we made the most important relationship decision of our lives without all the other “stuff” that comes with traditional weddings. Like you I’m not bashing the religious aspect by any means, as our two religious ceremonies were amazing experiences in their own right… Just sharing my perspective.

    Sorry for the long comment, but what you wrote made me think!

    • gracefulfitness

      No need to apologize Mia, I loved reading your thoughts! Thanks for sharing. I know what you mean about the emergency room, I was horribly ill in China at the end of our backpacking trip in 2010 and the things Tate did to take care of me were above and beyond the call of duty; pure family love.

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