Five
Friday at 3:15 in the afternoon, under the blazing Oklahoma sun, Shelton and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. FIVE?! Believe me, we're just as dumbfounded as the rest of you. I just cannot figure out where all of that time has gone.
We were just kids- I'd been 21 for barely three weeks and Shelton was 22. I had a few years of school left and Shelton, well, still has a few years of school left. We didn't have two nickles to rub together and had no idea what we were doing. But we were so in love it was kind of gross. And the grossness- it's pretty much the same today.
We get so caught up in just the chaos of our day-to-day that sometimes I completely forget to stop and just appreciate this. There's always laundry to do, a bill to pay, dinner to make, "someone" didn't close the cabinet door "again". It's when I stop and really just look at him that I'm amazed at this love that we share. I know, it's gross. There is something so real between Shelton and I that I don't think I ever anticipated even as we were sliding rings on each other's fingers in front of 170 of our dearest friends and family.
The cliche is so true- I love him leaps and bounds more today than I did five years ago. It's a better, stronger love. It's come with too many laughs to count, buckets full of tears, infinite I Love Yous, nights slept apart, good fights, bad fights, funny fights and stupid fights and the catalog of things that life throws at you. In these five years I've graduated from college, we've moved to a new state, we've both lost grandparents, had a few surgeries, found out that life isn't as fair as you'd like it to be, watched my brother get married, watch Shelton's brother get married, became an aunt and uncle, done a little traveling, eaten one hell of a lot of ice cream, been stranded on the side of the road twice and made out in a few places that we probably shouldn't have.
Our anniversary last year was a bittersweet celebration. We were in the midst of the Baby or Bust fifteen minutes of fame, my parents were just beginning the trials of their divorce, we were struggling with still coming to terms with our recent infertility diagnosis and my job was taking a swift decent. Over the past year, I've never needed Shelton more. His strength, love, and committment to me have been both tested and confirmed. I do not know that I would have come out of the past year on the sunny side of the street without his tear-soaked shoulder.
These days? Lots of laughing. Not so much with the crying. We're in a really good place right now. We've learned to ignore everything else and just focus on us.
So what else have I learned in these five years? That Shelton hates it when I kiss him after eating pickles. He hates dryer sheets. He doesn't eat anywhere near the amount of food I try to feed him. He needs just as much encouragement as I do. That nothing in the world is sweeter than when his lips kiss the spot right in the middle of my forehead. He always remembers to keep my feet uncovered. He loves my pigtails. He's smarter than I probably ever give him credit for. He will never leave the house with out kissing me goodbye. He rarely answers his cell phone when I want/need him to. He's the best thing that ever happened to me.
Shelton- happy anniversary. I love you- and I look forward to the next installment.
To everyone else- I know, you've thrown up in your mouth a little and you've stabbed something in your eye. Just deal with it. :)
We were just kids- I'd been 21 for barely three weeks and Shelton was 22. I had a few years of school left and Shelton, well, still has a few years of school left. We didn't have two nickles to rub together and had no idea what we were doing. But we were so in love it was kind of gross. And the grossness- it's pretty much the same today.
We get so caught up in just the chaos of our day-to-day that sometimes I completely forget to stop and just appreciate this. There's always laundry to do, a bill to pay, dinner to make, "someone" didn't close the cabinet door "again". It's when I stop and really just look at him that I'm amazed at this love that we share. I know, it's gross. There is something so real between Shelton and I that I don't think I ever anticipated even as we were sliding rings on each other's fingers in front of 170 of our dearest friends and family.
The cliche is so true- I love him leaps and bounds more today than I did five years ago. It's a better, stronger love. It's come with too many laughs to count, buckets full of tears, infinite I Love Yous, nights slept apart, good fights, bad fights, funny fights and stupid fights and the catalog of things that life throws at you. In these five years I've graduated from college, we've moved to a new state, we've both lost grandparents, had a few surgeries, found out that life isn't as fair as you'd like it to be, watched my brother get married, watch Shelton's brother get married, became an aunt and uncle, done a little traveling, eaten one hell of a lot of ice cream, been stranded on the side of the road twice and made out in a few places that we probably shouldn't have.
Our anniversary last year was a bittersweet celebration. We were in the midst of the Baby or Bust fifteen minutes of fame, my parents were just beginning the trials of their divorce, we were struggling with still coming to terms with our recent infertility diagnosis and my job was taking a swift decent. Over the past year, I've never needed Shelton more. His strength, love, and committment to me have been both tested and confirmed. I do not know that I would have come out of the past year on the sunny side of the street without his tear-soaked shoulder.
These days? Lots of laughing. Not so much with the crying. We're in a really good place right now. We've learned to ignore everything else and just focus on us.
So what else have I learned in these five years? That Shelton hates it when I kiss him after eating pickles. He hates dryer sheets. He doesn't eat anywhere near the amount of food I try to feed him. He needs just as much encouragement as I do. That nothing in the world is sweeter than when his lips kiss the spot right in the middle of my forehead. He always remembers to keep my feet uncovered. He loves my pigtails. He's smarter than I probably ever give him credit for. He will never leave the house with out kissing me goodbye. He rarely answers his cell phone when I want/need him to. He's the best thing that ever happened to me.
Shelton- happy anniversary. I love you- and I look forward to the next installment.
To everyone else- I know, you've thrown up in your mouth a little and you've stabbed something in your eye. Just deal with it. :)
