honeymoon happiness

 Driving down the freeways with “Just Married” painted across the back of our van, we got lots of honks and thumbs-ups and big smiles. We used a sharpie and the back of an old envelope to make a “Thank You” sign to flash in response. But three people went further than just a honk.

The first was a middle-aged Hispanic man who saw me stretching my legs at a gas station in the middle of nowhere in Northern California. He was so excited for us, and waved me over to his pickup truck, where I saw that the bed of the truck was full of cucumbers and jalapeño peppers. “Take many as you want!” he said. “My gift to you!” And he got a box of freshly picked strawberries from the cab and handed them to me. “Congratulations, so much to you,” he said over and over. He even offered to buy us lunch, but we had to be going. But I brought those strawberries and cucumbers with me. I just finished the last cucumber tonight. 

The other two men were both drivers beside us on a congested city streets. One was an older Asian man driving a big truck hauling some kind of product, and the other was an older white man driving a nice car with his wife. But despite their differences, the encounters were nearly the same. Both waved for us to roll down our window, then leaned out toward us to speak. 

“It is so good,” the Asian man said. “I’ve been married 35 years, and it is so good. Enjoy. Enjoy it.” 

“It’s the best thing I ever did,” the other man sad. “Been married 33 years and let me tell you, it’s wonderful.” 

We asked them both if they had any advice. They both laughed and waved us away. But then they both did answer us. 

“Have fun,” the first man said. 

“Enjoy every minute,” said the second. 

I know marriage won’t be easy; there’s no shortage of people and messages out there reminding me of that. 

But I’m grateful for the genuine joy and happiness of these strangers on our honeymoon. For feeling 35 years later how I feel right now. 

I’m the luckiest to have a best friend for life, my husband. He makes me so, so happy.