Posting about love

My facebook post this morning was this:

It is a gift to have a partner who you can reminisce about the past with, savor the present moment with and love planning your future with. heart emoticon I love you Michael--all of our yesterdays, today and always.

Yesterday, Michael drove me up to Spokane for my internship class so I didn't have to drive so many miles alone.  We had lots of hours in the car together.  And we enjoyed every single one of them.  I know that is not the case for many people.  I was reminded yesterday what a gift it is to be with someone that you can't imagine your tomorrow without.  I don't think you can say it, celebrate it or be reminded of that often enough.

As we grow older together and find ourselves alone much more often, we are enjoying it immensely!

We love our kids and are thankful for our many times together as a family, but it is a joy to watch them spread their wings and do their thing.  

We can talk about the past...treasures we've had and lessons we've learned.  We live in the moment--laugh at our own little jokes, behave like kids and talk about the our day to day routine.  And we talk about the future, "When we retire...." "When we have paid off the house..."  "When we have grandkids...."  All fun things to talk about.

When I think about what has made it work, I think there are a few things.  1)  We have always put each other first.  I know that is contrary to what other people believe is right.  But we felt that if we didn't prioritize each other, we couldn't be the best partners and parents possible.  2)  We have always purposefully stayed connected.  Holding hands, kissing, teasing -- never holding back our desire for each other.  And our kids don't even bat an eye.  That's just what they expect from us.  

3)  We give each other space.  Rarely do we argue, but on those occasions we simply give each other the space needed to simmer down.  4)  We don't sling mud...period.  We don't bring up the past, our flaws or hurtful comments.  5)  We are committed to each other.  Forever.  We work at this and are happy to do so.

Life and marriage are not always perfect or easy.  But they are totally worth it.

Twenty years in and I'd say we've got a good gig going!