31 Years of Married Bliss

Today is our 31st Wedding Anniversary. No one that knew us all those years ago would have pegged this relationship to last long enough to even get married least of all stay married for 31 years.
What I have to say to those people is "You didn't even know us".

We were an unlikely match, I was an anglo girl from the mid-west (I hadn't ever even dated a guy that wasn't a blonde or red head) and he was of hispanic decent and from here in San Antonio. We were in the military, stationed in Colorado and he was an officer and I was enlisted (a big no-no in what was the Viet Nam era).
I dated a lot, he dated infrequently. I was an extrovert and he was an introvert. He had gone to college and finished graduate school, I was lucky to have made it through high school. He came from a family of 3 kids, I came from a family of 7 kids. He had already seen the world and I had seen nothing.

Like any relationship/marriage, the "We" took practice, lots and lots of practice. We didn't always get it right, we fought/fight with a vengeance. His careers kept him away from home for about 23 years of our 31 years of marriage, he'd be home for a week maybe out of the month and sometimes not be home for a year plus at a time. Our daughter would scream when he came through the door because she didn't know who he was. This afforded me the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom. I kept an immaculate home, home cooked every meal, laundry was done daily. I volunteered with everything the children were involved in and even some that my absent husband needed me to be involved with.
Money was tight always and we moved frequently until it was time for the kids to start high school. It was at this time that our lives came together - Finally!
This unlikely pair managed to get two children educated in private high school, go to ivy league colleges on merit based scholarships, go on to get Graduate and MD degrees, and now for our son to be married (he's the MD) and give us our first Grandchild (Rudy), and our daughter is climbing the corporate ladder of success, not married yet but is happy and fulfilled.

We sacrificed long and hard to be able to retire early (and well), we travel when we can and enjoy everyday we have together.
Our Marriage actually is BLISS.
He is my friend, my lover, and the best part of who I am.