Happy anniversary to me and Hubby!! How can it be that it was three years ago that I married my best friend? A cliche? Yes, and one I scoffed at for years, but I'm lucky enough to see that it can be true.
I am so very grateful for second chances. After emerging from my first marriage a shell, confused and broken-spirited, I swore I'd never remarry. I'd lost all sense of what was normal in a relationship. All I knew was control, ridicule, anger, resentment. I realized I had to leave at the point when I found myself walking in the rain along the beach, cold to the bone, not knowing where to go and not wanting to go home. At that moment, I knew if I didn't leave, I'd slowly die inside.
Jon has renewed my belief in love, in goodness. He spoils me. Not in an overindulgent way, but in how he takes care of me: a selfless and loving devotion that I was not accustomed to. He allows me the freedom to be me, encourages me to find the best parts of myself; he supports me and pushes me to meet my goals.
We are a team, a partnership. We don't keep score; we work together to care for our children, our home, our relationship. We focus on communication and always try to maintain a loving connection. Do we argue and disagree? We do sometimes, but we always work together to resolve it.
This is what marriage should be. This is what I didn't believe existed. Today especially, I'm so very grateful for my life. For knowing a real love that does not judge, for seeing a softness, a tenderness in the eyes of my husband. For trusting in the longevity of this relationship and the journey we are on.
Today, with the help of our sweet girl, we celebrate the day of our very happy union!
Today we finally, finally had a date night! In the thirteen months since Rowan has been in our lives, we have only had about four times where we've been out alone, and this is only the second time we've gone somewhere just for us! We definitely needed this time together. Even though it was only two hours, the result of reconnecting is amazing. We decided to go back to Waterman's because that's where we had our awesome wedding reception three years ago.
I don't think we realized how much we needed some alone time until we were walking along the beach after dinner. It is so important to find time to reconnect, and after Jon went through a statistical analysis of hours in the month versus the time you are actually on a date (I tuned out at this point), we have made a commitment to work harder at setting up date nights more consistently. It feeds our relationship. It gives us a taste of what we were before Rowan. Sometimes in the business of family and work, that part of who we were together gets lost. In the blur that has been the past thirteen months since Rowan has been born, we have ended up neglecting us. Luckily, we have a strong foundation; we can handle the stress together as a couple, but we also need these moments to be present with just each other. To recharge!
