Valentine's Day Lovin!

Here I am again, a day before Valentine's so you KNOW I have things to say.

First of all, I am a sucker for love. Anyone who knows me knows this. I was excited for Valentine's Day this year because it's my first Valentine's Day as a MARRIED woman. I'm freakin' MARRIED. Recently, I have heard some horror stories of marriages and how they've fallen apart. Some from work, some from a friend of a friend. It doesn't matter. Some people just can't hang. It got me pretty down, to be honest. Marriage is supposed to be this whirlwind of love and happiness and joy and romance. It's semi-true though, because marriage is also pretty freaking hard sometimes. It's not rainbows and butterflies 24/7.

With Valentine's Day tomorrow, I'm going to focus on the positive. I decided to make a list of little things that have happened to me that I absolutely love since getting married.

1) Waking up in bed next to another human. The only other time I've done this was when I was little, and my sisters and brothers would all share a bed if we were cold, scared, or just felt like cuddling. Oh, and college, when I had nightmares and climbed into my roommates bed (whether they liked it or not). The thing about waking up next to your hubby is starting your day with them by your side. Even if he's out the door way before me, or he comes to bed late after a night of studying, it feels good to start every new day with him right next to me.

1a) Waking up in bed next to another human and a dog. One of the best things about being married is owning another living thing together. Since we don't have kids yet, our dog does the trick. Benny is only allowed to sleep with us on Saturday mornings. He KNOWS it's a Saturday morning when we hit snooze and don't wake up. He'll jump up, snuggle in between us (very awkwardly) and fall fast asleep. We'll wake up a few hours later with his wet nose in our face and his little paws pressed into our chest. It's the best thing in the entire world.

2) Sharing Joy.There's something definitely different and satisfying about sharing good stuff with the person you're spending the rest of your life with. When you have something great to share with a friend, it can only go so deep. Having a lifelong partner to actually LIVE OUT the things that make you happy is awesome. For example, for work I got a promotion and not only did it affect me, it affected Ben. MO' MONEY NO MO' PROBLEMS (kinda).

3) Sharing Suffering. Like I said, not everything is great in a marriage. There's still fighting, there's still disagreeing. Two people who grow up in completely different homes and grew up doing things completely different ways are suddenly expected to learn a new way of doing things. On top of all of this, whatever bad things happen to you, also affects your spouse. In one of my favorite praise and worship songs, the lyrics sing to God and say "break my heart for what breaks yours." This is because God loves us so deeply that he aches for us when bad things happen. In the same way, we are expected to love God so much that whatever goes against his teachings should break our hearts. We're meant to love just like him. When we love our spouse the way God loves us, our hearts break just the same. We share our sorrows and sufferings.

4) The Bachelor. Forcing your husband to watch with you is always a fun time. Especially when he looks like this watching it:

5) Sharing Space. I'm an introvert. Sometimes at work, I'm sent to two different hospitals and a presentation in one day. When I come home, I don't want to talk. I go straight to our room and lay in bed by myself. See what I said there? OUR bed. We own stuff TOGETHA!!!! And it's great. Being an introvert is a challenge in a marriage, but it helps to know that I share a space with someone and he's there if I need him.

6) Laughing. It happens. A lot.

7) Crying. It also happens a lot.

8) Being Vulnerable. You don't really know the word vulnerable until one of you is in the shower and the other is pooping. Everything about marriage is intimate IMO. Doors are left open, bras are hung to dry on shower rods...it begs the question...IS NOTHING SACRED?

9) Spontaneous Dates. Dates are fun when you're dating or even engaged. Their even more fun when you're married because you both go home to the same house when it's over!! :)

10) Being Married to your Best Friend. Ben and I have a best friend dance. Whenever we're happy we do a stupid dance and sing "you're my best friend, you're my best friend". It's goofy and weird but it reminds us where this all began. We were best friends who happened to fall in love and get married! I highly recommend it.

Happy Valentine's Day ya'll!