It is an Apple Cart

It is an apple cart, a display. Red and green the fruit displayed to feed the families who shop here. Why does this little wooden display cause so much pain? Why is it that these little round fruit make me struggle to maintain? Makes it hard to go on?

It is because of us. You and me. Who you became in my life. Who I became in your life. Who we became together. Many would not understand. But, for us, it worked. We lived with passion in our fun; we lived with passion in our sorrow. We exuded passion in our conflict. Our life together was honest. Our bond was palpable, our peace was full. We were, through it all, friends. Friends who knew the other, the good, the bad and the ugly. Your strengths balanced me. My strengths supported you.

 We learned to laugh about those miscommunications that existed simply (or maybe not so simply) because we spoke different languages. The communication became about more than being hurt because we were not heard. It became about more than pointing out that flaw. There came an acceptance of what we each were (and were not) and that sometimes things simply would not flow smoothly. That sometimes, you just needed to be who you were, and I needed to be who I was and together we needed to build that bridge toward the other. To stand together upon it in the midst of those differences. To allow the storm to flow under us and not consume us. The understanding that the only thing that we can expect is that we will be different by God's design. We will come from different sides. And we learned NOT to label it "bad" or "wrong"  but simply "different". And that difference will sometimes will cause conflict. That we choose to build towards each other not apart. That in the midst of it all "You" is important. "Me" is important. "Us" is important. Each of these is more important that being the same, being right or being without conflict. Each of these is more important than being correct or pointing out the error/flaw. That destroying the "You" or the "Me" destroys the "Us". 

This is why that little wooden cart can bring me to my knees. That when I walk by and remember that Fuji was your favorite, but that any (except maybe a red delicious) would do. That you loved them raw, you loved them cooked. You would eat them until the drawer in the fridge was empty. It is because I knew you. I was given the absolute gift of being your friend, your wife. And I was given the privilege of knowing all the little things about you that made you, You. And that together, we were "Us".