This last year, something finally shifted. It feels like we stabilized. Not our lives, but our marriage.  The first year and a half was incredibly difficult. For so many reasons.

If I had to describe that season in one sentence, it would be this: We just didn’t know how to be together.

We were learning everything all at once. How to live together. How to become parents of twins together. How to be a married couple. How to blend a family. How to live with a cancer diagnosis. All while Chris was finishing school.

It wasn’t that we didn’t love each other. It was that we were building the boat while sailing it, in a storm. But slowly, we learned how to be together.

This year is our third anniversary. The traditional gift is leather, and like the last two years, it perfectly fits. Leather is lasting, strong, and durable. It stretches without tearing. It softens over time. It ages nicely. It holds shape, but it also adjusts.

I am so proud of us. Chris, I am so proud of you.

You didn’t grow up with a model of what a good husband looked like. When we met, I knew it was what you wanted but you didn’t know how to get it. 

This past year, you became that man.

You listened to my wants, my needs, my frustrations, and you didn’t get defensive. You implemented change.

You started a love note & appreciation journal for me. You became a true 50% partner in our home and with the kids. You show up consistently, while building your career and maintaining relationships with our children and friends. And you don’t complain.

This is what our life requires right now. And yes, most days we are exhausted. But we are also happy, optimistic, and grateful.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Chris.

Cheers to 47 more.