happily married… 10 years later
Tomorrow we’ll have been married for 10 years.
I’m not sure what I thought our life together would look like ten years in. I thought we would have 3 kids and Jim thought we would have one so I guess the two amazing littles we have average out just right.
Did I think it would be easier than it has been? Probably.
We have so much to be grateful for… two kids who are healthy and happy and full of love, a home in a great neighbourhood with a backyard for the kids to play in and amazing people in our lives.
And yet sometimes it’s still hard. Hard to balance having a business (for me) and working (for him) and still finding downtime to spend as a family when we’re not rushing to a soccer game or picking up groceries. Hard to balance wanting to give our littles every opportunity imaginable with raising well-adjusted independent littles who are perfectly capable of filling their own time and using their imaginations.
And most of all, hard to balance being parents with being husband and wife.
I think that’s the one that shocks me the most… that it’s so easy to forget that I’m a wife and he’s a husband instead of just being Angelo and Grace’s mama and dad.
I remember our early days of marriage being lighter, with a lot less responsibility. Obviously we wouldn’t trade a minute of our lives now for the way it was back then… it’s more that we’re so caught up with the busy-ness of everything else that it’s easy to forget about those days when I was just his wife and he was just my husband.
Last year, on our 9th anniversary, we were out for dinner talking about what we would do for our 10th anniversary. We had talked about going away, maybe heading back to New York where we spent our 1st anniversary. That trip we walked for hours, exploring any little park we could find and just enjoying each other for days (actually a week) on end.
And oftentimes we spend our anniversary weekend in Whistler, staying where we stayed on our wedding night and sneaking up to the terrace where we had our ceremony.
Instead we’re putting off our trip until the timing is a bit better for his work and so we can be here for our youngest’s very first soccer practice.
So this year we’ll get a babysitter and head out for dinner together, just the two of us. We’ll come home to our littles already tucked away in bed and head outside to the backyard we love so much, watch the sun go down and open up a bottle of wine. We’ll hit play on the anniversary playlist I made today and be thankful for each other not as parents, but as husband and wife.
It’s definitely sappy but worthy of a summer night on the patio!
Well I’ve been with my hubby for 5 years and already it’s not what it used to be before kids…. being parents and partners is so hard. Sometimes I can’t stand my partner when the kids are around but absolutely adore him the moment we get away from them. Lol! Thanks for writing this. Good to know I’m not the only one.
I didn’t realize your anniversary is Silas’ birthday! Happy anniversary friend. Marriage is hard work and takes such intention and balance. We striggle with that too. I hope you guys enjoy your date and being husband and wife instead of parents for a night.
Happy birthday to Silas! And we’ll definitely have a good night out being grown-ups. 🙂
Happy Anniversary to you both! Sounds like a perfect way to celebrate. Great playlist – many of my faves on there too!