Marriage is What?

The other night we were sitting on our back patio and Zeb told me something that I am not sure he even realized would warm my heart the way it did. He was telling me about a guy that he works with that was recently engaged. They were talking about marriage and wedding planning and all the things that guys really love. His new work friend was telling Zeb that a lot of his friends were giving him a hard time about getting married. Zeb empathized and said ya I got the same thing. But then he said something I was not expecting. He told his newly engaged work friend that...wait for it....and I quote,

"Man, being married is actually pretty cool."

 I contained myself, even though inside I felt fireworks going off, as he finished his story. When Zeb told him that, the guy responded saying, "really? Man you have no idea how good it is to hear someone say that."

I know it seems so silly and I didn't even tell Zeb how happy it made me to hear him say that, but inside I was beaming! I mean let me just explain. First of all marriage is hard work. I have to say as we approach our one year anniversary that is just days away, it has not been a cake walk. Secondly, being a wife is even harder. I remember the first few months I strained myself constantly to make sure the kitchen was clean EVERY night before bed, woke up extra early to make lunches before work, and did laundry constantly. As soon as that faded I still kept up with those chores, but realized Zeb didn't always want a perfectly clean house as much as he just wanted to hang out with me. I guess what I'm trying to say is I was trying to be a good wife in ways that I thought made me a good one instead of in ways HE thought made me a good one. We have fought hard. I have cried. We have endured hours of silent treatments. But we have also laughed a lot, been silly together, gone on adventures, spent hours of porch sittin, talking about dreams for our future, etc. It has been one crazy year for us. Who can say in their first year of marriage that they moved 4 times, went through 6 jobs combined and one lay off? Not many. And at the end of 1 year he is telling someone else that being married is pretty darn cool. #Winning!

I tend to be one of those people that wants to make sure I am being the person others need me to be. I want to be a good daughter, sister, wife, friend, co-worker, student, etc. A lot of times I spend more time making sure I am pleasing others than I spend pleasing myself. I am OK with that. It is my nature. I am servant hearted. Well Zeb on the other hand is not one to express a lot of things. Those that know him, know he doesn't get overly excited about much and getting him to discuss feelings, well it is rare. So for me, as his wife, it tends to be a guessing game A LOT! I mean I assume since he is still around I must be doing something right, but it is not something I hear very much. You can see now why this tiny little conversation meant so much to me. It was confirmation, that one year in, he wasn't ready to go running for the hills! Come see me in 10 and I will let you know if that is still the case. :)

As for our anniversary, we are both really excited to be headed to the mountains of New Mexico tomorrow. Dogs in tow, all 4 of us will be spending the weekend on the river camping and fishing. I honestly cannot think of a better way to spend the weekend. I will be sure to take plenty of pictures to share next week. In the meantime say some prayers for our lives! I hear Smokey the Bear is out there somewhere and my guess is he is nothing like the TV character.