Five Plus Thirty Four

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Almost 12 years ago I married this guy. We didn't know each other very well. Oh, we knew all the 'facts' about each other but we hadn't spent much of our day to day life together. That is one of the hazards of meeting your future spouse online.


I strung him along for six months before finally, officially accepting his proposal. I freaked my parents out by visiting Detroit alone then announcing that I was going to get married and move there. They met Eric, they liked Eric but to say they had doubts would be like saying the Empire State Building is tall. It's very, very tall and they had big, big doubts. In fact, on my wedding day my dad told me it was still okay to change my mind. (For the record, his parents told him the same thing.)


When we got married, I seriously questioned my judgement and God. This was not the life I expected, the man I expected, the experiences I expected. Sure, I had prayed and received a very sure answer that I should marry Eric. But I was expecting roses, romantic dinners, a little newlywed love nest.


What I got was frequent fighting, living in his parent's house with all my stuff in storage, and no one anywhere close to run to. I was stuck with him, and he with me. (After all, I know I was no picnic.)


Eventually we started to figure each other out. We fell into a rhythm, we had kids, we put Eric through school, we made many mistakes both small and large, we started to understand each other and what love really is.

Love is choosing every day to ignore the bad stuff and embrace the good stuff.

So today, on his birthday, I want to say thanks. Thanks for knowing from the start that you wanted to marry me. Thanks for waiting for me to get my head together. Thanks for listening to me cry. Thanks for giving me two amazing children. Thanks for letting me stay home and be a Mom. Thanks for taking me out to dinner even when we really shouldn't be spending the money. Thanks for letting me shop whenever I want. Thanks for taking me to the Temple so we can be a family even when this life is over. Thanks for giving me a wonderful life. Thanks for sacrificing your family, your home, your money so that I can move back home. Thanks for putting up with my insecurity and shyness.

I'm not always good at saying it or showing it, but I'm grateful I married this guy.


Happy birthday!

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