Make That an Even Dozen

We have been married for 12 years today!

I know I have been accused of making my marriage sound perfect, but in the interest of full disclosure (which I am sure you have learned to expect from me) I will say that this year was the first one where I could see how much work goes into keeping a marriage alive.

Maybe I was just insanely lucky for the first 11 years, because I honestly thought marriage was a piece of cake. A big fat, chocolate on chocolate yummy one, too.

But this year, life tried so hard to get in the way. Seth traveled a lot. He worked a lot, often leaving home at 5:00 AM and usually getting home at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 and sometimes we have had crisis calls from work at midnight, that have caused him to pull his computer into bed with us and get back to work. And I had a very full schedule with the kids, leaving us with so little time to just be together, and even when we are together life has often taken the best of us and all that is left is cranky and overwhelmed.

Our life this year reminded me of a song I first heard on my mission, back when all I could listen to was church songs. It is called Ships in the Night by Julie DeAzevedo. It talks about a couple getting married, then taking on life with three kids, two cars and one mortgage, and how life got in the way of their marriage. The chorus says...

He's married to his work
And she's married to her children
He's talking in a meeting
While she's talking to a friend
She's running to the church
And he's running late again
In the name of all that's good and right
They're passing like ships in the night.

That all sounds so like my life this year. Please don't think I am putting Seth down for how hard he works. He works tirelessly to advance his career so that he can provide for this family, and that means everything to me. And I know that he is also grateful for the amount of time I spend trying to create a childhood for our children. This is just real life but the part of the song that scared me says they're winning their battles, but losing the love of their lives. I am not willing to do that. I love Seth and I will not let earth and hell or any other force conspire to take away the love that we share.

So while I have learned that marriage is work, I have also learned that it is the greatest work on earth. This is my family, not because it is easy, but because I have earned it. I have craved and savored the little pockets of time that God has carved out for us, whether it be few days in Door County or just a Sunday afternoon of football. I more fully appreciate the moments when the world clears out and I can be where I belong, in the arms of the one who owns my heart. So here's to another 12 years, or heck, let's go for eternity while we're at it.

I love you Seth Micah!

*P.S. Yes, the Packers lost today. :( We are a little disappointed to see a 19 game win streak come to an end, but our marriage is still 12-0, so it's all good.