A Few Thoughts on Marriage

It's not easy. In fact, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done. You go your whole life looking out for número uno, focusing on how to fulfill your own wants, needs, and aspirations and then after a simple ceremony one day you have a whole new set of needs and aspirations to fit in. And not to mention that you now share your space, bed, and spend most of your time with another person with a different personality and way of looking at things. It requires quite the adjustment and it definitely doesn't happen overnight. And after you adjust it doesn't end there.  It requires consistent work to make sure you don't fall back into your old single, selfish way of thinking.  And don't get me started on the pet peeves you don't discover until after you live together.  It's so easy to get negative about those and let them get under your skin but you have to work extra hard to let them go.

And of course there's the burning fire of romance, which burns so brightly while you're dating and you soon find out after you get married that it needs consistent feeding to keep burning.  Once the honeymoon stage ends, you get so wrapped up in responsibilities that it's easy to forget to spend that one on one time together.  And it's that much harder once you add kids to the mix.

So I guess you could say that my synonym of choice for marriage would be WORK.  But, boy, does that work pay off!  Just like everything else that requires hard work, it provides the greatest paycheck.  The reward is a deeper love than you ever imagined you would have in your life, both to give to someone else and to receive in return.  You have somebody you can always go to to laugh with, cry with, and to simply enjoy life with.  You have the best friend you've ever had by your side to hold your hand as you face whatever life throws your way.  You have the security of knowing that you are never alone.  What more could you need to get through this scary thing called life?!

And with that, I would like to end by saying thank you to my husband.  Thank you for putting as much or even more work into our marriage as I do.  Thank you for seeing past my imperfections and loving me anyways.  Thank you for supporting me in achieving my hopes and dreams.  Thank you for helping and encouraging me to reach my full potential.  Thank you for being my best friend.

Te amo!