Happy Anniversary to Us!

I know this is a few days (a week) late, but Bar prep is in full swing and it seems like all I am doing is studying and attempting to keep our house in some sort of order. Plus, I kept thinking about how exactly I wanted to write this - a celebration of marriage? What we did that weekend? Or a reflection on the past year. I am going to attempt to put all three of these things into one (somewhat) short post.

In pictures, the weekend:

We bought a new grill because the old one is not working. Do not ask me to explain why. This is the grill master at work. We had steaks, baked potatoes and....

A bottle of wine that my parents got for us. Yes, those super cute wine glasses have a "J" and a "M" on them. They were a wedding present. :-)

Sunday night (our actual anniversary) we went to dinner at Ruth Chris with a gift certificate from Mike's parents.

If you notice Mike is holding up the cork to the wine we had...he was excited. (can you tell we like wine?)

Here is the picture of the wine we had. Seriously, again with the cork?

And here is a picture of us. Please don't ask me why I look like I just got out of the ocean. It was humid and rainy that night and my hair was not co-operating. However, please take note that Mike has lost some weight since last year! He is looking quite handsome if I do say so myself!

So that was the weekend. We had a great time and made sure to eat that top layer of our cake. It was delicious!

Now, marriage is wonderful. I love having Mike as my husband - seeing him everyday, picturing the future together and knowing that I have a partner who will always be there to lean on. Mike is one of the most patient and supportive people I have ever met. He is also an incredible listener. (And not just to the last 5 seconds of a sentence when I say, "Did you even hear what I just said?") These are fantastic qualities, particularly because I realized this year that I have no patience. (I'm working on it.)

But, the first year is a challenge. If you attempt to tell me that you are married and made it through the first year without a disagreement, I will not believe you. I'm just laying that out there. You don't need to have had a knock down, drag out fight, but some sort of disagreement. Essentially, marriage is taking two completely separate lives and trying to somehow merge them into that perfect puzzle where you maintain your identities, but also are working as a partnership. I do not believe it can be done in a year. If you have achieved this, kudos to you. It is tough.

Personally, this year has taught me a lot about myself. I'm not perfect - surprise! I am messy...more than I thought. I forget things that you ask me to do (and I attribute this to old age) and I hate to clean bathrooms and fold laundry. There. It's out there. I need assurance when I do things, which actually really surprised me. Right now I am looking at signs that are posted around the house that say things like, "You WILL pass the Bar." There are approximately 7 of them. Mike can't wait for August to get here!

Mike and I did not grow up in identical families. We had to learn how to merge our ideas of what a family "should" be, into one that both of us were able TO be. I have accepted that Mike is not ever going to be my running partner. He has accepted that I do not like loud music and do not wake up well. Ever. (Even on our wedding day, I remember wanting to hit snooze.) But somehow, the pieces fall into place, and it works. Yes, there are disagreements along the way, but at the end of the day, there is no one I want to eat dinner with/watch Modern Family with/sit outside and do nothing with, more than Mike.

So, here's to another year of learning and love! Happy Anniversary!