This weekend I attended a beautiful Greek wedding. It was a very ceremonial event lasting over an hour and filled with tradition and symbolism. At one point in the ceremony, the priest spoke about the roles of both the husband and wife. As he read from his scriptures he talked about the bond between a man and a woman, how he is to love her as he loves himself and how she is to love him like no other. As much as she is to honor him, he (the priest said) is to honor her in return. He is to be the king in his house and she is to be the queen, he is to treat her with love, respect and cherish her as he cherishes himself.

All of the priest’s words spoke of equality, sharing and the importance of each person in the union. It praised the couple and said profoundly that they are to be the king and queen of their household and above all else, honor one other.

Sitting there, moved by the beauty of the church and the power of the ceremony, I reached over and held the hand of my husband. We will be together ten years this November and over that time we have been through our share of good days and bad.

Like many of you, our relationship was carefree and blissful those early days of marriage. It was the “creamy time” my father-in-law used to say, referring to how the cream from the butter rises to the top, but is only a thin layer and can disappear quickly. We happily enjoyed being a twosome, as we blissfully grew into one another.