Cheers To THIRTEEN Years!

Today, thirteen years ago, Seth and I became a couple.

Granted I was just 16 and it was one of those awkward teenage conversations where both parties blush profusely and stumble over their words.  But still.  That night changed the course of my life.  And his.

Since then we’ve had many life changing things happen to us.

There was the night we drove away from the sunset and instead holed up in his room in his parents house, where he played the CD that he’d recorded himself and asked me to marry him.  Or the morning where we woke up after a fitful nights sleep to go and get hitched at the chapel.  Or the couple of lines showing up on a stick, followed about 9 months later with the evening that we cradled our very first baby in our arms and tears in our eyes.  Or the couple of months after that, where despite clinging to the toilet with nausea, we celebrated the joy of another baby on the way.  Or a few months later where he frantically called for the nurse to help out our baby who was busy delivering herself.  Or that time we gazed at our baby boy for the very first time.  Or even just that time that we moved house.

Obviously there were more times than that – marriage is definitely not only good times.  There were many times that involved heated words and passive aggressive sighs.  Or teary eyed hugs at the loss of a loved one.  Even silence when the stresses of work got too much to bear.

But through all of that, we have managed to stick together.

The truth is relationships are hard.  It’s really difficult to keep investing time in one another as the years go by – especially when you add children and stressful jobs into the mix.  To keep that spark alive.  With the risk that, if you don’t, there’s a chance that you’ll end up miserable in a commitment that you have made to stay in for life.  And really, it’s easier to end up that way than you think.

This is getting all melodramatic.  But what’s the use in rejoicing in the good without acknowledging the bad that you’ve had to get through in order to get there?  The bad that made your foundation stronger and stronger as you worked through each trial.

Anyway.

Seth, you know that there is NO ONE else that I would rather do life with.  Being able to parent alongside you has been a joy and privilege.  Our children are lucky to have you as their Dad.  I’m glad we’ve worked through all of our bad so that we can indulge in the good that we’re surrounded with.  Here’s to many, many more years of life together.

I love you.

And now a look back at the last 13 years…