A Challenging Week, A New Discovery

This week has been a tremendously challenging week for several reasons... my dog's ACL injury, stress at work, life issues, etc.

But in all of it, I discovered something personal, and I thought I'd share.

I've been with my husband for about seven years. We spent five years dating and will celebrate our second wedding anniversary this September.

But, through various adversities this week, I discovered the best quality in Jim. (At this point, you can stop reading if it makes you want to gag a little bit. It's okay, this blog post isn't for everyone.)

The reason I think it's so poignant is because it hit me in a single moment. It was like a light bulb went off, and it was clear as ever. People always say the dorkiest crap about their spouse, but, it is pretty incredible that a marriage can truly grow into something bigger than imagined.

My discovery with Jim is that he is honest to a fault. He has not a single mean bone in his body. That doesn't mean he's a sucker, a door mat or a push over... it just means he does not boast in being correct, seek revenge or turn around and wrong the person who wronged him.

I realized recently that he is truly a good man. One who takes care of his family, and one who is always on the right side. Jim has never been in trouble for being "wrong." I mean, there are a lot of times I think he's wrong about his opinion... but he's never wrong in his intent.

And, I'm lucky to discover this before our two-year anniversary. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next two, three, or four decades! (However, I wish he'd do more yard work...)

One Year of Marriage: DONE

Well, I meant to write something about this yesterday on our anniversary, but I was too busy celebrating it!

I can't believe it's already been a year! It has gone by so fast. It's a cliche, but it is true.

Where do I begin? First of all, it's tough to be married. Not really, but kind of. The saying is that the first year is always the hardest, and I guess I would believe it because it involves so much change. Merging of bank accounts, interests, and goals can get kind of tricky when you've spent the last three decades or so acting independently.

My co-worker and friend, Joanna Small, calls it becoming a "one-brain." A-ha.

Anyway, we've done a lot this last year:

1. Bought a house.
2. Adopted a dog.
3. Planned a second wedding. (Okay, still planning)

It doesn't seem like a lot, but those three things are really big in my book. Minnie, our baby rottweiler, is like a little person. I just love her and don't want to be away from her.



Our house is madness. I can't keep up with the housework, we need to repaint and do some maintenance, and make it our own. And a second wedding... well, it comes with a lot. Planning a trip overseas, working two or three extra jobs to get extra money quickly, and withdrawing yourself from society to save money sure has felt time consuming and stressful.

BUT WE LOVE IT! I mean, we love our life together, anyway. We complain about a lot, but the truth is, we have decent jobs, a nice house, a great dog, our health, a wonderful family... In general, we live without worry, and we often take it forgranted.

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Our schedules just don't mix well this week with my moonlighting... so on our anniversary, Jim laid out a line of rose petals from the front door to the kitchen. When I walked to the end, he was on one knee and asked me to marry him again--in Korea! I laughed because it was so sweet... and a little out of character for him. He also gave me one rose and joked that I'd get two next year.


Then, he took me to dinner at Ocean Zen (the same place we went after we got engaged.)

After dinner, Jim surprised me by taking me to the Walnut Street Inn! Awesome!! We woke up this morning and ate spiced french toast, sausage and fruit. We sipped on hot tea and coffee... Then, after about 10 minutes of a nice, calm morning, we rushed home and went to work. We had such joy for such a short time! But it was such a great way to celebrate.

The funny thing is that we're going to pick-up celebrating again on Friday... only this time, I have a suprise for Jim. I wish I could share it, but he is a blog reader! ha!

I'll write about it after it happens because honestly, I think what we're doing will be really interesting to a lot of people! I already spilled the beans to some people at work, and they were looking into doing themselves!