Celebrating 5 years of marriage is a big deal! Ok not that big of a deal when I consider my parents have been married for 35 and my grandparents were all married for more than 50. We’ve got a long way to go, but we have learned a lot these past few years. Sam and I have been together for nearly a decade – we met in high school and started dating in college. I’ve grown so much since we got married. I thought it would be nice to share a few things I’ve learned. Read on if you would like!
- Try and do one kind thing every day. This sounds simple and it really, really is. Trying to be a perfect wife is overwhelming and frankly impossible, so I try to do this instead. It’s as easy as it sounds, I pick something each day that I think would make Sam happy and I do it. These are ridiculous things like making the bed, making a Costco run, or making evening plans I know he will enjoy. He is WAY better at this than I am and has taught me what it really means to be thoughtful.
- Celebrate the small stuff. I notice we get little happy bursts when we celebrate small accomplishments or events. Whether someone got a raise or a really great golf score, we try to celebrate.
- You can’t say I love you too much. I never tire of hearing it. I think it’s so important to let Sam know I love him every single day and he does the same for me.
- Marry the guy that will do all of the jobs you don’t want to. This sounds terrible, but it’s true. Sam is much more responsible than I am. He keeps our finances in check because I hate dealing with numbers (hello journalism degree!), he keeps our yard looking nice and always does the dishes and takes out the garbage because he knows I hate those chores. He never complains about doing any of these things and I think we balance each other out quite nicely, even if my only addition is the fact that I’m kind of good at baking 🙂
- Enjoy every stage. Our relationship now is much different than it was five years ago. We are a bit more grounded, but also much more deeply in love. We’ve gone through lots of stages – The Honeymoon Stage – The College Graduation/Searching for Real Life Jobs Stage – The New Homeowner Stage – and now, the Pre-baby Stage! All of them have been so fun to experience together. It’s crazy to think I’m now having a baby with the boy I’ve loved since I was 19. I feel so lucky to experience life with Sam and I think this next stage of parenthood will quite possibly be the best one yet!
