What over eight years looks like to us ♥
From laughter to tears of joy, this time last year, I was a bundle of emotions to say the least! My girls were dressing into their pale blush gowns and I slipped into my lace dream spending the last moments as being a Ms. Today, a year later we wake up to our first wedding anniversary and together as a couple for over eight years now. Today we are doing a little something special, but our real celebration starts in a few weeks time as we are heading back to Italy on holiday! Remembering back on our wedding day solidifies that I married the man of my dreams, my best friend.
People often classify love as having those “butterflies” in your stomach, like you first did when you met your partner in the beginning of it all. However, over time and especially once living together the relationship changes and those once tingling butterflies might not feel the same way they did before. Every relationship is different of course, but in our case, the small nerves of excitement have turned into something far calmer, more significant and stronger. Instead of a rollercoaster, there is a safeness and security, a trust when looking into each others eyes that you share with no one else. It is about knowing that we stand united behind each other building on those deep feelings that make us, us.
I don’t wait for his numerous phone calls or texts like I used to, but it’s that one sentence of “I’ve missed you” that solidifies it all. It’s the sound of his heartbeat as I lay in his nook in the crack of dawn that gives me the ultimate comfort. It’s the touch of his hand that grabs mine when we are both deep asleep and the “sweet dreams my love” that we say to each other every night before going to bed. It’s how he likes my leg to be between his thighs like a pillow, when we close our eyes and go to sleep. After all these years, playing tag around the kitchen table is still as fun even though it’s most certain I loose every time. It’s our own little bubble we have built together over time that only we know about. It’s the way he holds his hand behind my back and the way he guides me through the streets we explore together. It’s the excitement and appreciation we share for the small joys in life. It’s the way he looks at me when I’m all dolled up, but even better when he tells me I’m the most beautiful woman when I stand in front of him makeupless.
Not every kiss is as fiery as they used to be, but there are more of them and they are never forgotten. It’s the kiss when coming home, the kiss in the bathroom when brushing our teeth, the kiss under the blanket when I’m falling asleep during a movie or the kiss along the grocery aisle when no one is looking. It’s a kiss with so much history but better yet, a kiss with a lasting future.
I asked a few of my closest girlfriends for an outside perspective on the foundation of our successful eight years and it summed to this. It all comes down to respect that apparently shows from miles away, that leads to an equal partnership where we both feel worthy. We don’t take each other for granted and we choose each other every morning because we want to be together and want to make each other happy. “You still make it special and surprise each other with things that matter to the other person…you make an effort!” I asked my hubby what he thought was the secret to our relationship and he believes that we know how to smile through life together, to enjoy the just “us two” time that makes our everyday norm more exciting and different. I’m happy to have found that special someone for me, where together we can go through life hand in hand.
Happy 1st wedding anniversary my darling, my other half.
photo source: Ania Padzik