Seven years may not seem like long to some, but to us – it is everything.
Seven years of taking the road less traveled.
Seven years of foot rubs and movie nights on the couch.
Seven years of hoping and dreaming.
Seven years of finding the silver lining.
Seven years of seeing the world together.
Seven years of being the strong one when you know the other needs it.
Seven years of letting down walls because you know you are safe where you are.
Seven years of homemade brunch.
Seven years of bloody marys. And margaritas. And craft beer.
Seven years of puppy cuddles and fur babies.
Seven years of chasing our dreams even when they seemed totally crazy.
Seven years of never giving up.
Lucky number seven. The year we finally get to celebrate our anniversary living out one very key part of our vows that we dreamt of even before we were married….
I, Christy, take you, James, to be my husband;
To be my lifelong friend, my love, my confidante, and the father of our children.
I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of need,
in sickness and in health, in failure and in triumph;
I promise to cherish you and respect you all the days of my life.
We transferred those two perfect embryos on 7/7 and this year on our 7th anniversary, we don’t need any big anniversary trips, or fancy date night dinners. We don’t need to sleep in or get each other extravagant gifts… because the every day life we are living is more than enough.
Instead, today we woke up when the boys said so. We parented together… took turns changing diapers, feeding, and cuddling. We put them down for naps. We plugged pacifiers in their mouths over and over again to make sure they kept napping. We finally gave in and brought them both downstairs and ate our anniversary brunch (slightly burned pancakes and extra crunchy turkey bacon, because I got distracted while making it) sitting on the bed in our guest room with the boys and Chloe in between us. We talked about what these last 7 years have meant to us and dreamt together about what the next 7 may look like.
I haven’t showered or changed my clothes since yesterday (you said we’re parents now, we don’t have to change our clothes every day… haha) – but you love me just the same (dirty hair… baby spit up all over my shirt… my new jelly belly with stretch marks and all). You’ve loved me like that every day of our marriage. Even when I felt most unlovable. Even when I acted in ways that did not warrant for you to love me like that. Even when I swatted your hand off my backside for the millionth time. You have always loved me with your whole soul, and I’ve always, always felt that. Your love has helped me soar in big ways and even more importantly, in the little every day ways that matter most.
Thank you for choosing me, for loving me, and for always pushing me to be a better version of myself each day.
Happy anniversary, love. Here’s to a lifetime of new adventures ahead. xoxo
(Photo by Simply by Suzy.)
