Something funny happened last week.
Him and I are Mormon. When we were married in 2001, we had a civil ceremony. Some time later we had a religious, or temple ceremony. We celebrate both anniversaries because we love each other very much and I like flowers.
In January, we celebrated our 15-year civil anniversary. Fifteen years is a long time, so we made it a bit of an occasion- it was very nice.
Then, a few days ago was our temple anniversary. About a week beforehand, my husband started asking me what I wanted for my 15-year religious anniversary. I told him thank you but I didn't need anything at the moment. When the day came, though, he treated me to a bracelet, flowers and chocolate covered strawberries. (Him is a keeper)
Yesterday morning I was reminiscing about our temple ceremony. In particular, I was thinking about a picture of myself and our then seven month old son.
He's fourteen years old now and taller than I am.
Fourteen.
We waited a year and a half between our civil and religious ceremonies. It was our fourteenth temple anniversary, not our fifteenth.
Which means that NEXT year is the big one! I can't wait to see how Him improves upon this year.
Fourteen.
We waited a year and a half between our civil and religious ceremonies. It was our fourteenth temple anniversary, not our fifteenth.
Which means that NEXT year is the big one! I can't wait to see how Him improves upon this year.
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Anyway, as I was thinking about our wedding and our marriage, I realized that we have had plenty of highs and lows. Him and I are very happy together. We work together, support each other, almost never fight. It's a great marriage.
But marriage hasn't always been a piece of (diet) cake. We've had months that felt like torture. We've hated each other. By all accounts, we ought to have divorced. And some of our friends and family still don't understand why we decided not to throw in the towel.
I can't imagine what our lives would be like today if we'd decided to give up then. We would probably both be struggling financially. Our amazing children would be torn between two homes- likely in different countries. Not having resolved our disagreements, we might still be suffering emotionally. I doubt either of us would have pursued other relationships. We made the right decision for us because we had a vision for the future and it didn't involve giving up.
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I have a hard time keeping motivated to continue diet and exercise when I don't see results. But I have to keep my long-term goals in mind. I want to feel healthy and energetic. I want to look better and have more confidence to do the things I enjoy. I want to live long enough to enjoy my grandchildren. And it's going to require commitment.
Anyway, as I was thinking about our wedding and our marriage, I realized that we have had plenty of highs and lows. Him and I are very happy together. We work together, support each other, almost never fight. It's a great marriage.
But marriage hasn't always been a piece of (diet) cake. We've had months that felt like torture. We've hated each other. By all accounts, we ought to have divorced. And some of our friends and family still don't understand why we decided not to throw in the towel.
I can't imagine what our lives would be like today if we'd decided to give up then. We would probably both be struggling financially. Our amazing children would be torn between two homes- likely in different countries. Not having resolved our disagreements, we might still be suffering emotionally. I doubt either of us would have pursued other relationships. We made the right decision for us because we had a vision for the future and it didn't involve giving up.
******************************************
I have a hard time keeping motivated to continue diet and exercise when I don't see results. But I have to keep my long-term goals in mind. I want to feel healthy and energetic. I want to look better and have more confidence to do the things I enjoy. I want to live long enough to enjoy my grandchildren. And it's going to require commitment.
