8 Years

"Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry." - Tom Mullen

We had our "8 Year" Anniversary yesterday. On the day we got married, my mother-in-law said, "I sure wouldn't trade places with you." I had no idea what she meant. I was having the most wonderful day, and I couldn't understand why anybody wouldn't want to be me. :) Now that we have a few years behind us, I'm starting to understand her statement. In some ways, it seems like it's gone by so quickly, and in other ways, it seems like we've lived an entire lifetime together already. Sometimes, I can hardly imagine what my life was like without him.

I found a quote by Will Stanton that I really like: "Getting a dog is like getting married. It teaches you to be less self-centered, to accept sudden, surprising outbursts of affection, and not to be upset by a few scratches on your car." This is significant for a couple of reasons. First, ever since I've had my third child, I seem to be unaware of curbs when driving. I don't know what it is, but I am constantly running into them, over them, and scraping up next to them. Greg simply has to accept that his brand new rims are ruined (and he has done so with remarkable patience). Secondly, when our marriage is working, really working well, it is clear that I am not thinking about myself, but about my husband in all that I do; he, in turn, is not thinking about himself, but about me in all that he does. We get to float along, enjoying life for a few days or a few weeks until that nasty selfishness pops up again. Then, we start over, trying to let go of our selfishness and seek out the other person's happiness. And...we are learning to laugh a lot more (mostly at ourselves)!

This picture was taken right before I inhaled wedding cake up my nose. I blame it entirely on Greg's brothers. :) He felt like he couldn't disappoint them. It's okay - it was good cake (no matter how it went in)!

This is my favorite picture of Greg on our wedding day. If any of you have ever experienced "Deliriously Happy Greg" you know what this picture exemplifies. I love you, Greg! Thank you for being everything that you are and bringing me so much happiness. Happy Anniversary!