The Little Things

(These beauties were in full bloom on our wedding day and always blossom on our anniversary.)

Each year on our wedding anniversary, I do my best to gather my thoughts well enough to express my love for my husband. It’s hard to gush about someone without coming across as braggy or less than genuine. I’d hate it if my words or photos left my female counterparts rolling their eyes at my latest attempt to paint a picture of a perfect life.

Know that for every photo that I post of a lovely looking meal there’s a not-so-appetizing greenish brown smoothie (yum!) or overcooked piece of salmon being served. For each adorable pet picture, there could just as easily be one of Cooper puking on the carpet (double yum!).

The same goes for our marriage. For every blog post proclaiming that my husband is the sweetest man alive, there’s an unwritten post about the times that we get on eachother’s nerves. I try my best to toe the line of acknowledging and celebrating the beautiful things, without denying the existence of the not-so-beautiful things.

Three years into marriage and I think we’re getting a better handle on not setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves (we still have miles to go). We don’t yet live in our dream home, one of our cars is the same one I cruised around in at 16,  our pets are kind of crazy, I can’t really guarantee that all of the rooms in our house will ever be clean at the same time. But we’re trying.

Three years is an in between kind of anniversary. Not a hallmark ten and not the romanticized first. Yet, I still want to shout my love for Jake from the rooftops (cue the rolling eyes).

But for real, I found a good one, you guys. He’s the kind of man that shows up for me every day. He remembers to put a dozen eggs in our cart at the store because we only have three left at home. He never fails to plan something special for my birthday and usually on a tight budget. He still reaches for my hand when we cross the street.

Do these things sound less than romantic? I’ll tell you, after fourteen years together and three years of marriage it’s the little things that make all of the difference.