A Mushy Post

One year ago today I became a Mrs., a Nelson and a wife and the man who was already my best friend, love and partner became my husband.  And in marrying him, I gained so much.  I gained his world--his wonderful family, their traditions, the places and activities he and his family love . . .  Put simply, my world got bigger.  And he, in turn, gained my world--my big, crazy family, our traditions, the places and activities we love . . .

I think there's a tendency in our culture to think of marriage in terms of what we give up--the million "other fish in the sea", our singledom, our individuality, our time, our freedom or our privacy . . . But, I think that's all wrong.  In my experience, being in love has opened me up to all sorts of new things.  It's an incredible thing to share your life with another person--to be able to introduce each other to your preferences, your passions and all the things you hold dear.

When I married C, we'd already been together for nearly seven years and in that time, I'd discovered that the exchange never stops, that sharing things with someone you love is always exciting and kind of magical, and that life with a person you love just gets better over time.  On our wedding day, a family friend told me, "every year it gets better.  You don't think it can but it always does".  Experience had shown me that this was true.  Now, one year of marriage--and of ups and downs--later, and I'm happy to report that those words still hold true.

Today, our relationship and the life we share together is somehow even better than before.  We continue to try new things--new recipes, new runs, new beaches, new games, new adventures . . . And our life is still full of firsts.  In the last year we hosted our first Thanksgiving, shared our first Christmas, purchased our first house and adopted our first dog (the sweet and funny little Buckwheat).  Marriage is not without work (and struggles) but ultimately, my life is so much richer, wider and more complete with him by side.

So Happy Anniversary, Mr.!  Your are my other half, my best friend, my favorite subject, my sounding board, my confidant, my goofball, my running partner, my partner in crime and my go-to.  Thank you for knowing my favorite candies, forgiving me when I'm grumpy, putting up with my shutterbugging, cooking dinner for me when I'm feeling too tired or lazy and for sharing day after day (no matter the kind--good, bad, happy sad, boring, exciting, quiet, mad) with me.  Really, there are so many other names I could give you and another million things for which I could thank you but I'm sure this post has already gotten too long (and all of my sweet nothings probably don't belong on the internet).  So thank you for being a wonderful, loving husband and choosing day after day, to share your life with me.  Here's to our first year of marriage and to the many more years to come.  I love you so very much. I do! I do!