The Ruck

What better way to introduce ourselves than to share with you our favorite phrase?

Over here at Israel and Melinda, we use a special word.

We’ve experienced a lot in our first (almost) three years of marriage. Typical second marriage stressors like high conflict co/parallel parenting, kid/stepkid dynamics, discontent with where we physically lived, and basically just trying to navigate all of that while getting to know one another as husband and wife.

IT WAS ALREADY CHALLENGING.

Add to the mix infertility, a diagnosis of an eye condition that will leave Melinda legally blind at some point in the future, unexpected and NOT typical co/parallel parenting stressors…

WE WONDERED HOW MUCH MORE WE COULD POSSIBLY TAKE.

Melinda asked Israel one day: So what do we call this? I refuse to call this an adventure. OR a journey. Or a wilderness. I’m so tired of all those words.

Israel answered: This is a f***ed up RUCK RUN.

And we liked that. We shortened it to just “ruck”. It’s our mental image of life. Our back packs are filled with things we didn’t choose and the trail has a lot more on it we don’t even see coming… the rain and mud and lightning we’ve already been through together has left us beat up, but more than surviving.

WE REALIZED WE COULD ENDURE ANYTHING.

In your second marriage, you must find someone willing to go on more than an adventure. They must be willing to go through the ruck with you.