20 YEARS

What does 20 years of marriage look like?

I'm sure it is so different for every couple.  Everyone is just trying to make it work, trying to merge two lives and two personalities together.  Everyone's  trying to create a family, no matter how big or how small, and trying to make a home for that family.  Our 20 years have been filled with ups and downs, happiness and heartache, good times and bad times, and work, work, and more work.

I sometimes look at us and think we are ordinary.

Rick asks me to shave his back and I ask him to rub Bengay on my shoulder!  We go to bed by 9:00 and rarely are still awake by 10.  Our phone calls usually consist of lists of things we need to get done and trying to solve problems that have come up during the day.

And then I look back on our 20 years and I see something much different than ordinary...

I see him standing beside me as I have delivered three beautiful babies.  I see him holding throw up buckets and sick kids.  I see him cleaning poop off the walls after our child smeared it everywhere while he was supposed to be napping.  I see him holding me while I wept time and time again when I wasn't pregnant.  I see him standing at swim meets, football games and lacrosse games, that big rough man, choking back the tears because he is so proud of our children.

Memory after memory after memory comes to mind of this amazing man giving everything to our family, and to me, and I know this isn't ordinary.

A few nights ago, as I was telling him all of things I was stressed about, he told me that it would make him so happy if he could take everything that worries me or stresses me away so that I didn't have a care in the world.  He told me that his #1 goal in life is to make me happy.  In a world where everyone thinks of themselves first and wonders "what's in it for me?", my husband quietly nurtures our relationship.  Ordinary?  Not even close.

And so here is to the next 20 and 50 and 100 years together.  Here is to eternity.  Here's to working everyday towards something that is our own - that isn't like anyone else's - and most definitely isn't ordinary.  Here is to compromising and bending, to laughing and crying, to fighting and making up.  Here is to many more years of putting my cold feet between his legs to warm them up, to rolling over to be held,  and to laying my head on his chest.  Here is to making our wonderful, crazy love last forever.

Here is to us!

Happy 20th Anniversary!  I love you babe!

^ ^ At a movie on our anniversary ^ ^

^ ^ We both got each other the exact same card!  Is that true love or what?!? ^ ^