Seven years doesn't seem like a very long time. In my teens, when I was looking forward to being 21, it seemed to take forever. In my older age, seven years sounds like a blip in my life.
You can fit a lot into seven years. A marriage, a honeymoon, career changes, travel, a baby, growth {the waistband kind}, first home purchases, a second baby, second home purchases, dogs...my list could go on and on.
Leading up to our anniversary, someone asked me if I've felt the "seven-year itch" yet. Honestly, I had no clue what they were talking about. Google says, "The seven-year itch is a psychological term that suggests that happiness in a relationship declines after around year seven of a marriage. The phrase originated as a name for irritating and contagious skin complaints of a long duration." What an awful way to describe a marriage.
My marriage has not been perfect by any means. Stephen and I argue. We have disagreements. We have days where we don't like each other. We have had unhealthy times in our marriage where we have ignored each other for days on end. We have spent thousands of dollars on pre-marital counseling as well as marriage counseling. We have both seen dark days in our marriage with hurtful things we've said or done. None of which either of us are proud of.
With that being said, we have also experienced some really wonderful and gratifying days in our marriage. Our wedding day still stands as THE BEST DAY EVER! The birth of both of our children. Our honeymoon; what a luxury. We are still pinching pennies to get back to Cayo Espanto in Belize. The purchase of our dream home. Watching our children love each other. Hearing Addison pray for the first time. Hearing Austin say, "I love you Mommy". Watching Stephen thrive in his dream job at Riot Games as well as co-write and co-produce his podcast with his brother, Tavern of Heroes. Traveling the world together. Planting a garden and watching it explode. Seems silly but, I didn't buy a single head of lettuce all summer!
These things may seem small to any outsider. To us, these are all achievements. You see, we are in it for life. Marriage is not always easy. It's actually really difficult at times. Stephen and I are committed to one another and making our marriage work on a daily basis. We still see a marriage counselor from time to time. We try to have a date night away from our kids at least once a week. We try to get away for at least 24 hours to be alone and spend time together every couple of months if we can. We try to support eachothers dreams and aspirations. We work very hard to parent together so there is never a "good cop" or "bad cop" in our household. We try to have "facetime" every day to communicate. Most of all, we put The Lord first in our household. We try to let Him guide us in all that we do.
Happy Anniversary Stephen. You are one smoking hot Daddy Pants! You are an outstanding father to our children. You are an incredibly loyal and gracious husband. I find you incredibly charming and funny. At the end of every day, I have never and will never doubt your loyalty to me and our marriage. Thank you for choosing me and for changing my heart to be a better woman.
I will always remember that day in 2010. Sitting in the front seat of your car. I knew I could never live another day without you in my life.
xoxo,
DeAnna