Creative Calm Connected: Sweet sixteen

I got a nice surprise today. When I woke up my dear Husband said “Happy Anniversary”. I was a bit confused. Our wedding anniversary isn’t until October. However, 16 years ago, this date changed both of our lives forever.

We were at a little Irish pub near where we live. It was dark, it was late, it was loud. Who knew that night would change the course of my life forever?

We saw each other across a crowded dancefloor and eventually, at last drinks, spoke, made a good first impression, and have never looked back.

Sixteen years! I can’t believe it. I have been thinking today about all that we have crammed into those years and I am so glad that my Husband had the courage to overcome his shyness that night and speak to me.

We have made a wonderful life together. We have enough because we have each other. We have fought through the struggles and made a beautiful family. Our two children are the greatest gifts he has given me. Each one a magnificent balance of the best bits of each of us. Every time I hear their giggles or shrieks of delight I am grateful that I met him and we made these little people!

We have a gorgeous house, but it is the way we have filled it with love, hopes and dreams that make it such a wonderful home.

We have travelled. We have seen some of the world’s most beautiful places. We have roamed high in snow covered mountains and swam in crystal blue oceans. We have seen beaches of all different colours, have skied in the desert and in the snow.

And there is no one in the world that I would have loved to do that more with than him.

We have the same values. We have some similar interests. But in many ways we are opposites. He balances me perfectly. I talk, he is quiet. I am extroverted, he introverted. He likes the outdoors, I like reading. He saves money, I spend it!! He is old, I am young ;)

He is patient, kind and generous. He is gentle, quiet and calm. He puts his all into working hard and giving us a brilliant life. He is very handy around the house, and has an inquisitive questioning mind.

Don’t get me wrong, he is not perfect. He is always late! And sometimes we have trouble finding a way to communicate effectively with each other. But who doesn’t?!?!?

The thing is, despite our imperfections (I know, hard to believe, but I have a couple too), we find a way to make it work. It is our commitment to each other that I am really proud of. We have got through some really tough, dark times and come out the other side together. Many other couples who have faced what we faced may not have been able to stick with each other. They might have shut each other out, so absorbed in their own grief they might not have had enough left to give someone else. But we always do. We always have enough. We always keep trying.

Our wedding day was one of the best days of my life. After several years together, finally having that day where we told the world officially that there is no one else we would rather share life with was an amazing and powerful feeling. I know lots of people think that being married is just a piece of paper, and I suppose that it is. But for me, it is more than that. It somehow magically gave me that extra assurance that this really is real. Something shifted. Got bigger. It gives me a sense of security knowing that he could have married anyone else, but he chose me. It makes us try harder to be the best we can be for each other and our children. I still get a kick out of introducing him as “my husband”.

He is a great Dad. He loves his children with all his heart. It is beautiful to see the differences in how he interacts with each one. The rough and tumble, playing with guns, noisy interaction with our son. And the softer, quieter, gentler side of him that I see our daughter bring out. It melts my heart when I catch a glimpse of him sneaking a quick cuddle with them. Each of them completing him in a way we never thought possible before we became parents.