Kim and I have two – well, three – anniversaries that we celebrate today. The first is our wedding anniversary, 21 years ago. The second is the anniversary of our first date, 33 years ago today. And it is also the third anniversary of our summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Each year as we roll around to this time, both Kim and I start reminiscing about what was one of the greatest trips and expeditions of our lifetime.

I kept a journal throughout our trip, and I love re-reading it, filling in details that my mind has pushed out of the forefront. The sketchy climb up Baranco Wall and posing at Kissing Rock. Frozen water bottles in our packs on summit night, because it was so cold and windy. The meals we shared with our fellow climbers and the connections we made with our porters and guides.

But something I had completely forgotten about until I found a thick envelope on my desk was our family sneaking letters into our luggage. Before we left, a group of family and friends wrote us letters and managed to get them into our suitcases so that we would find them on the climb. Once we knew about them, Kim and I made a habit each night of opening a letter and reading it in our tent before we went off to sleep. Some were cute little poems and drawings and others were motivational and encouraging. And of course, there were quite a few reminders to be safe and not do anything too risky.

In any big endeavor, there may be moments where you are unsure of what you are doing, whether you want to keep going, and whether you will actually reach your goal. For us, we overcame visa issues, rain and sleet, intense cold, tired legs, and aching bodies. In no small way, those letters kept us going, reminding us of the support we had from everyone at home. Reading a different letter each night let us drift off to sleep knowing that while none of our family and friends were with us on the mountain, they were with us in spirit and cheering us on as we moved towards our goal.

And while the summit of the mountain was of course the spectacular finish to our expedition, it also happened to be our 18th anniversary, and so we used some of our precious minutes at the top to renew our wedding vows. So today is a very special day in our lives: three anniversaries to celebrate! At dinner tonight, I’m sure Kim and I will walk down the thirty-three years of memories that we have together, thankful that we’ve been able to experience amazing adventures and grateful to have spent two-thirds of our lives together.