Thirty-one years. That's officially how long Tom and I have been married as of this evening, around 6 or 7 pm.

And they said you couldn't find lasting love in a bar…



Wm-

…No more looking for love in all the wrong places
Looking for love in too many faces
Searching your eyes, looking for traces
Of what.. I'm dreaming of…
Now that I found a friend and a lover
God bless the day I discover 
You, oh you, lookin' for love.

~Wanda Mallette and Patti Ryan


(For our first dance as a married couple, we chose "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places."  Yes, really! I still love that song!)

They also said getting married on a Friday the 13th was bad luck…that once Tom graduated from college with his degree he'd dump me…that building a house together was suicide for a marriage…

We proved them all wrong…

…at least for thirty-one years, anyway. If I've learned one thing since my wedding day, it's to not take your love or marriage for granted. To say we've had our ups and downs is putting it mildly…and it can turn in a heartbeat.

But if it ended tomorrow, I'd have no regrets. Meeting Tom that fortuituous night in the Diamondback Saloon was a blessing…a seed that continued sprouting and blooming into a garden of blessings.

I'm so grateful for each and every one of these thirty-one years…even the bad ones, because they helped me appreciate the good ones.

 


Us wurstfest nov. 81-2

Tom's 25th texas tumbleweed
Baptism with t and b-2

Wm-


Wm-1999
IMG_0160
Two mr and mrs tom shallues
photo by bloom photography


(I've also learned that thirty-one years can go by really fast!)

Happy 31st anniversary to the love of my life!

…But the greatest of these is love.

~1 Corinthians 13:13

 

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33 responses to “Thirty-One Years”

  1. Rae Sinor Avatar
    Rae Sinor

    OH BARB…………………… sigh…….<3

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  2. katie Avatar

    happy, happy anniversary!! such happy photos!

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  3. Renee Avatar
    Renee

    How wonderful! I laughed when I saw the Diamondback Saloon – Oh-Em-Gee – we frequented that place and danced the night away! It’s a small world….

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  4. Lissa@lafcustomdesings Avatar

    Congratulations! So happy for you. ;->

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  5. Jennifer Richardson Avatar

    SOooooooo beautiful and bountiful, a love like yours:)
    Grateful with and for you!
    No easy road, a long 31 year haul.
    Well done you guys:)
    -Jennifer

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  6. jeanne stone Avatar

    How lovely! What a gift to have a wonderful marriage

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  7. lisleman Avatar

    Congrats to both of you. It sounds like you are very realistic about the difficulties any two people can have making a life together.

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  8. Ms. A Avatar

    Happy Anniversary!
    I couldn’t help thinking of “Sissy” in that first photo! (especially since I was singing along)

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  9. Ms. A Avatar

    Oops, make that the second photo.

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  10. Lady Fi Avatar

    Ahh… that’s wonderful! Wishing you many more happy years.

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  11. Friko Avatar

    Happy Anniversary!
    You both still look no age at all, happy and contented.
    Who says you can’t find love in a bar? I did, the second time around, which is now 26 years ago.

    Like

  12. Pauline Avatar

    Happy Anniversary (I’m a few days late, sorry)! Love the photos. I don’t think it matters where you met, it matters more how you meet life together. You two seem to have it right 🙂

    Like

  13. beth Avatar

    awwww congratulations you love birds !!!

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  14. Hilary Avatar

    What a time of milestones. Happy Anniversary to the both of you. May you have many, many more.

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  15. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you! I hope we do!
     

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  16. Wolf Pascoe Avatar

    When you get married at age 12, you’re bound to encounter some difficulties later. You are both twelve in that picture with you in the DuPont hat, right?

    Like

  17. Otto von Münchow Avatar

    Congratulations – and Happy Anniversary. Thirty-two is fantastic! I wish you both all the best.

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  18. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you, Otto! It's amazing even to me!
     

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  19. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you, Beth!
     

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  20. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you so much! Well, there are days we have it just right, and other days we don't. I guess that's marriage.
     

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  21. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    That's awesome! I think there are more of us who met in bars than people realize!
     

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  22. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you so much!
     

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  23. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Except for the permed hair. (I had that the year before this was taken. 🙂 You know, they're rebuilding Gilley's…
     

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  24. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you! No one thinks they're going to have difficulties when they first get married, do they? Or at least they can't imagine the ones they end up having.
     

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  25. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    I agree! Thank you!
     

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  26. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Not an easy road at all, but the smooth parts make it worthwhile. Thank you, Jennifer!
     

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  27. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you, Lissa!
     

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  28. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    That's so funny! We probably bumped into each other there. That dance floor could get pretty crowded!
     

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  29. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Thank you so much!
     

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  30. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Love you, sweet friend!
     

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  31. Barbara Shallue Avatar

    Um, of course! (I agree…we both look 12! Such babies!)

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