{THIRTEEN} Years of Bliss

Today my hubby and I are celebrating our 13th anniversary! How crazy is that?! 13 years is a long dang time! However, the last 13 have been the best years of my life! I can honestly say that I have a BLAST being married to Ry! He makes marriage easy, fun and so happy!

I also must include that 13 years is pretty awesome, when you find out that just 6 days after meeting we were engaged! Does that sound like me or what?! 2 months and a week after that we were married! NUTS! What can I say, when you know, you know. :)

The other day I was thinking about the last 13 years and wondering how it is that we have made it to this point still totally in love with each other. I mean, I still get the butterflies! They never went away! When he is at work, I miss him. I can't stand it when he is away from me. We have so much fun together! I am pretty sure we could be together 24/7 and never get tired of it.

I was thinking about what it is that makes our relationship work so well. I came up with a few things that have worked great for us. Things we just kind of do, but that make all the difference.

First, I have to say that it's not always perfect all the time. Although, we have never been in a "fight", we do disagree with each other, sometimes. The important thing is how we work out the things we disagree about. We NEVER EVER yell at each other. Oh my, the thought makes my heart hurt! I would feel awful if I ever raised my voice at Ryan, and vice versa! There is nothing in this world that is important enough to bring that kind of reaction out of either of us. Don't get me wrong, I can get pretty passionate about my side of the disagreement, however, I am more passionate about my relationship with my hubby. I would never say anything that would hurt him in anyway.

Ryan has taught me A LOT about compromise. Not with words, but in the way he is with me. I learned very early in our marriage that my happiness and comfort are always his number one priority. In turn, his became mine. It is amazing what this has done for us! It has always been unspoken, but through his example and our actions my needs are taken care of, his needs are taken care of, and it is all done through service toward or from each other. Serving others increases our love for them. Perhaps only our families, those that are totally nauseated by the amount of times we tell each other we love each other in a day, are the only ones that would think more love in our marriage is a bad thing! :)

One thing that I love in our relationship is our ability to communicate. When something is missing, needed or upsetting, we can talk openly about these things. I know that if we talk to each other about something that is bothering us, we will always validate the way the other feels about the situation, even if we disagree, because we are 2 different people and we will react differently to a situation. When Ryan does this, it totally helps me feel safe with asking for what I need. Sometimes as women I think we just want our husbands to be able to figure out or just know what we need. We think if they were really in-tune with us or really loved us they would be able to figure it out. SERIOUSLY! This bugs me. When we react this way, it totally sets us up for heart ache. Some men are more in tune than others, but really, most just don't think that way. They would do anything in the world for us, but they need to know what we need or want. If we don't tell them, they don't know why they are in trouble. When they find out they are in trouble for not being able to read our minds....oh my! Can you imagine how helpless you would feel?! It makes me laugh a bit. Sometimes between hormones and occasional over sensitivity, our poor husbands can't win! :)

I also love that Ryan supports me 100% in ANYTHING I want to do. If I feel the slightest desire to accomplish something, he is always my biggest cheerleader. I am pretty sure he thinks I can do anything. I love that he believes in me like that.

I love that Ryan is a share the load type guy. If he notices I have had a big day he always whips up dinner, or does the dishes after. He totally helps out anywhere he sees he is needed.

There are plenty of faults between both of us, and we are different in a lot of ways, but we compliment each other perfectly. We have been through a lot of rough stuff over the last 13 years. Between the financial mistakes we made in the first couple of years, to infertility, to preemie babies, having Dawson with all of his special needs and then losing a child...statistically we have defied all the rules. However, we are tighter than ever. He is truly a great partner and I am SO glad he is mine!

Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to dote on my hubby! He makes me ridiculously happy and I am SO glad he is mine! I am glad he is willing to put up with my selfishness and love me anyway! Sometimes I can be a turkey, I am sure!

LOVE YA BABE!