🌙⛵💖 Life By Us: 36 Years of Love, Adventure, and the Art of Writing Our Own Story 📖✨

In this heartfelt anniversary episode, I share a personal story that spans nearly four decades—from meeting my husband Philip as a teenager, to getting married aboard a tall ship on Lake Ontario, to the life we’ve created together as captains of our own ship.

Originally written on our 21st wedding anniversary, this reflection—titled Life By Us—looks back on our unique wedding day, the adventures we’ve embraced, and the symbols that continue to guide us: motion, journey, and the waxing and waning of the moon. From the music and milestones of the 1980s to last night’s moonlit lake, I explore how love, partnership, and creative living evolve over time.

If you’ve ever wondered how to build a relationship that thrives through change, or how to honor your shared history while looking forward to the next chapter, this episode is for you. It’s a story about choosing your own course, celebrating the phases of life, and embracing the adventures still ahead.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• The story of our one-of-a-kind tall ship wedding on Lake Ontario
• Why “Life By Us” became our personal mantra
• Reflections on the moon’s phases as a metaphor for love and growth
• A celebration of 36 years together and the adventures still to come

Whether you’re in a long-term relationship, just starting out, or simply love a good love story, this episode will inspire you to chart your own course and be the author of your own life.

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Chapters

• 0:47 Wedding Anniversary Reflections
• 1:34 Life Before Philip: 1980s Memories
• 3:01 Our Unique Ship Wedding
• 4:36 Moonlight Reflections on 36 Years
• 6:47 Sailing Forward Together

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Hey there. Yesterday was our 36th wedding anniversary. 15 years ago, in 2010,. I wrote this passage and I remember thinking that day, all those years ago, that one day I'd maybe I always have been. I called it life by us. 30 years ago, I met Philip. That's when life as I knew it changed. I was only 15, just two years older than our Haley is now. I have to admit, I can start to relate to the panic that set in when my parents realized they were losing me.

Speaker 1: 1:11

1980. Records and ghetto blasters, michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, reagan the Pope, assassination attempts, the royal wedding. I had my own phone in my bedroom. Now that was cool. I still remember the number. Don't think speed dial even existed. We actually had to memorize the numbers. Philip and I used to talk on the phone for hours at a time, often falling asleep while we talked in bed. It would drive my parents crazy. They'd never survive Facebook. So here I sit on my bed looking out over the city of Burbank at the beginning of yet another new chapter of our life, waiting for the cable guy to install the internet. Today marks our 21st wedding anniversary and my laptop, in some kind of a time warp, has stuck itself on 1969. I was five years old then, too far back for my purposes here. I couldn't resist looking just now to see what day August 12th was in 1980, a Tuesday, probably just before we met in the early fall for the cabaret auditions Life before Philip. I had to reset the time zone on my laptop too. It felt good, setting it to West Coast time. It seemed somehow apt that I begin this writing endeavor on August 12th, our 21st wedding anniversary.

Speaker 1: 2:50

We got married in 1989 aboard the tall ship the Challenge. It was a beautiful Saturday evening on Lake Ontario. I remember when my dad proudly walked me onto the ship, someone shouting from the shore make her walk the plank. Little did he know that jumping into deep, uncharted waters with Philip was not only something I was prepared to do but has become our chosen modus operandi, our mantra, our way of life. The wedding was beautiful, or so I'm told.

Speaker 1: 3:28

In the handful of photos that exist, everyone looks happy and young. We don't have even one framed picture of us at our wedding. In fact, the photos are in a photo trunk in Philip's mom's basement somewhere. No wedding planner, no bachelor parties, no flower girls. It's funny. We're probably one of the happiest married couples I know, and yet neither of us wear our rings. There are no signs anywhere that it is actually official. I guess we've just never needed to be reminded.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Those vows were made when we were teenagers. I would have loved to have been a guest at our ceremony, though. I mean, how often do you get a chance to go on a boat for a wedding? Neither of us is religious, which is why we chose neutral ground. It's no surprise in retrospect that the event was one of a kind. Even then, we had a knack for event producing. The fact that we chose a ship to exchange our vows of a life together could not have been more fitting.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Motion and journey, two very strong symbols in our life. Together, new adventures, destinations uncharted. There were 40 special humans who sailed into the sunset with us to celebrate that hot August night, and they came from all sides of the family and both sides of the ocean. Some are still with us and some have sailed on, but the family bond has remained strong on both sides. Last night, 36 years later, I watched the moon rise over the lake. Its reflection grew closer like a golden carpet rolling out toward me as it ascended to the starry sky, the same moon that shone.

Speaker 1: 5:28

All those years ago, john, all those years ago, on August 12th 1989, our wedding day, the moon was in the waxing gibbous phase, meaning it was more than half illuminated, growing to full. How apt for a young couple on the cusp of beginning their life together. Like moonbeams, we grew brighter as we reached for the stars together. Last night, on our 36th, the moon was in its waning gibbous phase, which means bright but gradually shrinking after the full moon. But we are not the moon, and I smile knowing we have remained the captains of our ship, the authors of our story. Life by us, our life together, still shines brightly and my sails are ready to unfurl for the next adventure. Happy anniversary, my love. I'm Lisa Hopkins. Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the moment.