Six years. Two kids. A dog. Multiple career changes. Homeowners twice. The last six years have gone both gone by in an instant and feel like it was forever ago. I so often hear marriage described as hard work, but honestly I just don't relate to that at all. That's not to say we don't fight or disagree (we do, and often!), but with the confidence and certainty that we will work it out and will never give up on each other.
I feel like our anniversary this year really encapsulated the reality of marriage and our role together as parents. It started out with Eric's idea to make this homemade Italian feast. When I was in Europe last year, I brought back some Olive Oil and Limoncello, which we intended to save for a special occasion. This was it! Eric got really ambitious and decided to even make the pasta from scratch. Well, after hours of making, chilling, and kneading the dough, he put it through the pasta roller and it turned into a globby mess. Just a total disaster. In the meantime, the balsamic reduction he had simmering on the stove burned and he was getting understandably frustrated. But truthfully, I didn't care at all that things weren't going all that smoothly - the simple fact that my husband wanted to go through that amount of work and frustration just to make something special for me says everything.
When it was time to eat, Nolan lost it. A major tantrum, caused largely by being overtired and out of routine for the past few days, pulled Eric and I away from the table for an hour and a half of negotiations with a four year old. Throughout this, Eric and I worked together like a well oiled machine. We took turns trying to calm and reason with him. We made sure the other got something to eat, and some birthday cake, despite the stormy and hysterical preschooler losing it in the sunroom. We didn't get rattled and stuck to our guns. We stood behind each other and offered support to one another. And after all that work, our son was able to get his anxiety under control and join us for the rest of the gathering.
THIS is marriage. Working together. Teamwork. Standing up for our values together. Taking care of each other. Putting the needs of the other first. It may not have been the most glamorous of anniversary celebrations...no candlelit dinner or romantic evening out, but to me, it affirmed that there's no one else on earth I'd rather work through problems with, support, and stand behind for the rest of my life. I love you, Eric. Happy Anniversary.
