Wisdom Quest Arts and Coaching

My husband, Jim, and I entered America’s Top Couple Contest recently with the following entry. I thought I’d share it with you, since we were chosen as one of the top 10 finalists. We do not know the results yet; however, we had so much fun creating this together – we’ve already “won.”

 We were introduced at a mutual friend’s party, but I was soon embarking on a lengthy European journey, so I barely noticed him. Three months into my travels, surprising both of us, he joined me. Over four romantic weeks we discovered how simple and fun it was to be together. Sharing our passion for being active in nature, we married atop Mount Whitney. Our 22 mile, full moon hike to the 14,494’ altar symbolized, ‘the longest aisle.’ Our journey is a metaphor for our marriage – occasionally challenging, yet with persistence and mutual support, we strive forward. Early in our partnership we committed to having a therapist guide us. These ‘relationship tune-up’ sessions explore issues ‘beneath the iceberg’, and our supportive ‘Imago dialogues’ ensure we both feel heard. This deep intimacy helped sustain us when a wildfire destroyed our home and kept us together during the long rebuilding process. That experience crystallized for us that relationships are what matter – the rest are ‘things.’ We recently fulfilled a lifelong dream to travel the world for 14 months, a 24/7 exercise in the 3 C’s of marriage. For three of those months we shared an RV smaller than a king size bed. After all that closeness, we remained friends! We’ve learned to appreciate our differences. He’s had the same career his whole life while I continuously reinvent myself. We truly enjoy each other, yet I welcome his male bonding at baseball games and poker nights, while he encourages my theater involvement and meditation classes. Fortunately, we are neither jealous nor needy, and we keep the trust jar full. We’ve shared many triumphs and tribulations in our decade as partners. While we cherish our shared values, our foundation is believing that wherever we are, if we’re together, we are home.