It's Complicated

Last year, I made a post on our wedding anniversary about how happy I was to have been married to Joe for five years. Someone, I don't remember who, pointed out to me that we hadn't been married for five years...it had only been four. I subtracted 2007 from 2011, and, uh-oh, they were right! I hurried up and changed all the mentions of "five years" before anyone else could notice my error.

Well, this year, it really has been five years (as of last Friday.)

I'm learning that it's complicated. I knew almost from the beginning that perfection wasn't possible, but I never believed it when people told us we'd struggle, that things wouldn't always go the way we wanted them to. Maybe everyone else would eventually run into problems, but we were just too happy together.

Then came reality, and I'm learning that it's complicated, the balancing of two people's needs and wants, flaws and failures. It's complicated, the bond that grows slow and steady and strong, twisting through the hard parts. The commitment to getting it right, even though the work is so difficult and painful...getting it right, finally, someday. Together.

and here we are in an ancient Korean graveyard

Happy anniversary, Joe. I've spent almost a fifth of my life with you, now, and I hope I get to spend like a total of 75% of my life with you. Or more.

I still think you're the greatest.