Eleven Years

Nothing but sappy, emotional posts coming from me lately! Wonder how many regular readers I've turned away?? ;) Hang in there, people! I just have to get this one out and then we'll be back to all the randomness. This July 4th is my 11th wedding anniversary!! I think if you can make it past ten, you're in the clear right?? Seriously though, I cannot believe I have been married to this wonderful man for eleven years. And we started dating back in 1993, so we've been together for...... well, I'm not even going to go there! It's been a long time!

Marriage is an interesting union, that's for sure. Wikipedia says that marriage is a social, religious, spiritual, emotional and/or legal institution of individuals which creates a kinship. Kinship seems like the right word to me. It's better than friendship. It also said that marriage is often viewed as a contract. Huh. Neither one of us really knew what we were in for when we signed that contract. If someone would have told us what to really expect, we probably would have run in the other direction and not looked back!!! Just kidding! It hasn't always been easy though, that's for sure. Lots of things have changed over the past eleven years. We started out in a simple apartment in the city with just the two of us and now we have a house in the suburbs with kids and a dog. And now we don't get to spend as much time together as we used to, but I can honestly say there is still no one on the planet I would rather spend my time with. I guess that's why it works so well. We still like each other!!!

So what has being part of this particular contract taught me???

1) to err is human, to forgive is divine - so he forgot to put the seat down again. Choose your battles, don't sweat the small stuff..... forget about it.

2) just because you have a fight doesn't mean you don't love each other and just because you don't fight doesn't mean you do - you know??

3) what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine ;) share stuff

4) communication is key. And it's more about listening than talking so shut up!

5) if you come to a fork in the road, take it

6) time outs aren't just for kids - if you're super pissed take a break before it gets real bad... like throwing things bad. You want to avoid that if possible

7) look at what's right rather than what's wrong

8) learn to say you're sorry and really mean it

9) some home improvement projects are best if hired out - ex: putting up wallpaper together equals marriage death

10) always remember to say I love you - never assume it's implied

As usual, my playlist sums it up better than I could with words. Most of these songs have very significant meaning to us - 'Iris' was what we danced to at our wedding reception eleven years ago! Happy Anniversary, Kevin. 'I love you' doesn't even begin to touch the surface of how I feel about you, but it will have to do! Here's to many more amazing years together!!!