Tag Archives: marriage

Quick Update

July 21, 2009

I’m finding that I am not a very consistent blogger. Oh well. This is just for fun anyway!

Z and I have spent the month of July so far by moving, traveling, attending showers, weddings, camping, and undergoing surgery. (Z had his wisdom teeth pulled out a little over a week ago and thankfully is almost back to 100%!) Our move into Z’s grandparents’ house went smoothly, and we are thoroughly enjoying being here. At first, I was a little apprehensive that we would feel like we were either intruding on their time or neglecting them if we didn’t “hang out” with them all the time. But it couldn’t be more comfortable! They are a couple of very involved, very busy people and while it is obvious that they like having us around, they don’t go out of their way to include us (aka- they let us do our own thing!) and they are extremely respectful of “our” space. (Not that I thought they wouldn’t be, it’s just that they have gone above and beyond what I would expect to make us feel like we have our own space and privacy.) Plus, having a comfortable, beautiful home, yard, basketball court, and delicious home cooked meals doesn’t hurt either! I think we could get used to this…

We’ve also been really busy every weekend. For the 4th, we traveled to be with my parents, see fireworks, and go to the Taste of Chicago. The following weekend, I had a bridal shower to attend for the bride who is getting married at the end of this week and we ended up skipping yet ANOTHER wedding due to Z’s painful, puffy mouth and slow surgical recovery.

And last weekend, we went camping. My dad grew up along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and less than a mile from his boyhood home is the campground that I first remember camping at. And we’ve been back many many times since then. This most recent time was with our newly married friends, Dan and Rachel, seen here singing while fixing us some lunch.

Making Grilled Cheese- The Musical

We played board games, made s’mores, roasted hot dogs, rode our bikes, visited the nearby outlet mall, and went to the beach.

Skipping Rocks

Where we skipped rocks…

Catch

Played catch…

Big WavesTaking the plunge!

And SOME of us, even got wet! (Even though the temperature was in the low seventies and the water was COLD)

Polar Bears

Not to be outdone, Dan joined in. Afterall, he has done a “Polar Bear Swim,” in the lake, in the middle of December. The middle of July? No problem.

Laughing

See? He’s laughing at how easy it was… or was that an exclamation over how cold it was?… I can’t remember now. :)

It was a great weekend and it was wonderful to be able to spend some quality time with my best friend- and her new husband. Since moving away from our college town, Z and I have felt a little isolated and friendless. We know that this will change once we’ve had a chance to make friends at church, work, our new apartment (whenever we find one that is!), but it was nice to see some old friends to tide us over.

Speaking of work, Z has been working very hard on preparing for his first year of teaching and is growing more and more excited as the date comes nearer. And me? I’m still looking for a job. I’ve applied to a couple places and am looking for more and have my fingers crossed that I can find something by the time he starts teaching- even if it’s only part time for now.

That’s pretty much what’s up with us right now. I’ve been thinking a lot about a “story” that I want to start recording here and I think I’m about ready to start on that. Plus, I’ll have more wedding pictures to share after my stint as a bridesmaid this weekend!

For now, I’m off to help Grandma finish getting dinner ready. Z’s sisters are joining us tonight which should be a lot of fun.

Have a wonderful evening and Choose Joy!

E

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One Week Left

June 24, 2009

Well, we’re down to our final week in our “together hometown.” In one short week, we will be moving away from the place where we met, became best friends, fell in love, shared our first kiss (and many more after that!), got engaged, spent our first year of marriage, and oh yeah- went to college. This town is really full of memories for both of us.

Just tonight, we rode our bikes over to our favorite local custard place, past the run down building where I took my freshman and sophomore year architecture studio classes. And I can still vividly remember the graffiti walls, late nights, line dancing to “Footloose,” and even the smell of the building.

We know where we’re going for the coming year. Sort of. And after that, we have no idea where life might take us. We talk about the possibility of coming back here but there is no way to know if that will ever happen. Sure, we’ll be back to visit some friends and my sister who are still in classes but that’s not the same as living here. Part of me thinks that if we had moved right after I graduated, it would have been easier. But now, we know a little what it’s like to live in TOWN, not just on campus. And we like it. A lot. And now, we have one week left and last five seem to have disappeared all too quickly.

The coming year promises to hold many adventures… a new apartment (which we have yet to find), Z’s first year of teaching, and hopefully a new job for me! We’ll find a new church and hopefully some new friends. But we’ll also be far away from our “old” friends and I’m anticipating needing to get mapquest directions in order to find the grocery stores in our new, significantly larger, town (Actually, it’s a small city) as I am completely unfamiliar with the area.

We’ll also be much closer to Z’s family. Which will be a blessing in many ways but also a challenge for me as I learn how be a part of their family on a more regular basis. (Not that I’m not ALWAYS a part of their family but we’re going to be seeing a LOT more of them and that’ll be a new experience for me!)

But, we’ll be together and going through a bigger move like this will be another first for our marriage. And all of our other “firsts” turned out really well so far! :)

So, anyway… one week left and then we’re off!

In the meantime, I’ll work on filling you in on Z’s graduation celebration and his upcoming concert this weekend. (Did I mentioned that we’ve filled every spare moment between now and moving day? Or that we’ve also filled every weekend between now and the end of July with plans? No boring summer for us!)

Off to bed… only 4 more days of work!

E

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First Anniversary

June 3, 2009

On Sunday we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. And I still can’t believe that we’ve been married for that long already!

As we sat at dinner on Sunday, we commented on how remarkable it is to be unable to imagine daily life without the constant presence of each other after only one year of living together and 20+ years with our respective families. We were told by several people shortly before our wedding that the first year of marriage is the hardest. I sure hope that’s the case because this first year was a breeze and we decided we’d like at least 75 more like it!

Anyway, to celebrate, we enjoyed some strawberry pancakes for breakfast (we had pancakes the morning after our wedding a year ago), and for lunch, enjoyed a picnic at the Arboretum where we started dating and Z proposed.

Picnic

It was a perfect day to spend some time outside,

Wineblueberry wine

and to enjoy some of the Wild Blueberry Wine that we purchased in Maine on our honeymoon last year- and saved to enjoy on our first anniversary!

After lunch, we played some catch.

Nap time

And because it was a beautiful day, and we were worn out from the catch, we caught a nap in the shade. :)

Evening downtown

For dinner, we dressed up and headed “downtown” for a very nice outdoor dinner- complete with wine, steak, scallops, and desserts. Definitely a once a year kind of meal…

Anniversary!

And I made sure to wear my new pearl earrings which, along with a matching necklace, were a total surprise anniversary gift from my dear husband. And here I thought that you weren’t “supposed to” get pearls until the 30th anniversary! Lucky for me, Z has no idea that “traditional” anniversary gifts even exist. I doubt he’d follow them even if he knew.

Thanks for a very romantic day, honey! I can’t wait to see what year 2 has in store for us.

~E

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Transitions

June 2, 2009

Wow. I’m a really bad blogger! Not that I’ve ever been particularly diligent in my journaling endeavors…

Maybe I’ll just blame it on the fact that for the last few weeks, Z and I have spent every spare moment packing boxes, carrying boxes, moving furniture, and searching for the inevitably “lost” item of clothing amidst the mountains of cardboard filling our apartment.  We are in the middle of a multi-stepped moving process. Our lease on our apartment ended on the 31st (also, our first anniversary!) but we need to be in town until the end of June for Z to finish his last college course and for me to wrap up my time at my current job. So, we are subleasing for a friend for the month of June.

In July, we will move into the basement apartment at Z’s grandparents’ house where most of our stuff is currently being stored while we search for a NEW apartment in that area. Z’s teaching job for the fall is official and out of a desire to avoid a two hour commute every day, we will be leaving our college home and moving closer to his new school. Which means that I too will get to seek new employment. We are hopeful that i can find a job and a new apartment by August- and having the time to look in July while enjoying a rent free, air conditioned, basement apartment is truly a blessing.

And in the midst of all the searching, we of course have many plans for summer fun and adventure. We attended the first wedding of the season last weekend- of a couple of our college friends (they are dropping like flies!) where Z played piano for the ceremony…

Z on the piano

At a wedding

… and the reception had a great view of the city skyline! (not that you can actually see it in the above photo!)

And this COMING weekend, we will be celebrating with Rachel and Dan (see previous post!) at their wedding on Saturday. Throw in a few more weddings, a weekend at a lake house to celebrate Z’s graduation with our families, a camping weekend, a weekend in Cincinnati to visit our other married cousins, horseback riding lessons from Z’s aunt (which I am SO excited about!), and a list of projects that is 2 miles long a growing, and our summer promises to be a very busy- yet fun!- one.

And hopefully I’ll be better at recording it here- especially since I might actually have some fun things to talk about.

Another post coming soon- I promise!

E-town

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Anniversary of Spring

May 14, 2009

I’ve been doing a lot of adoption related reading lately. And one thing I read just last night was about the “anniversary feeling.” That phenomenon where we experience feelings, sensations, and memories around the anniversary of a significant event that are not all directly related to the calendar dated anniversary of said event. For an adopted child who was placed with their family during winter, the onset of the following winter- the cold, snow, etc, may trigger the feelings of confusion and fear that accompanied placement. Even if the child has adjusted well to the family. I was thinking about this and realized that it happens for me all the time.

I love autumn. The colors, the cool, crisp air, the smells. But it’s more than that. The feeling of fall prompts me to feel the excitement of new beginnings (living on a school calendar for about 20 years will do that to you!), the joy of celebration of mine and my sisters’ birthdays, the anticipation for the coming holidays, and brings back the memories of apple picking, the last campfires of the season, and attending the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon. (google it- it’s awesome!)

And the warm, humid air, greening leaves and grass, and budding flowers of spring have always brought celebratory feelings of nearing an “end.” Summer vacation, a new softball season, family vacations, and in short, freedom, awaited at the end of spring- the end of the school year. And the months preceding the end of school were always soooo long.

Last spring, I was nearing the end of my college career, the end of my life as a student (at least for the time being!), the end of four years of way too little sleep, often too much stress, and the convenience of living with some of my best friends. I was nearing the end of my wedding planning, my engagement, my life as a single woman. And I was nearing the end of my time of living with my parents. As independent and grown-up as they treated me already, every school break and holiday was spent at home with them and I knew that things would change once I moved out for good.

However, last spring, I was also quickly approaching a time of new beginnings. Of drastic life changes that would affect my life forever. More so than any softball team or summer vacation ever had. I was approaching life as a college graduate. Life as a full-time employee of a company. And most importantly, life as Z’s wife.  And that was exciting enough to make me all but forget the “endings” of last spring.

Now, this spring, as we are enjoying more numerous warm, sunny days with blooming lilacs and breezy green trees, I am again experiencing much of the anxiety and excitement, the nostalgia and anticipation of last year. And I know that much of it is linked to my memories of Spring 2008. It is the anniversary of my college graduation, of saying goodbye to so many friends and to a way of life, of saying goodbye to my old bedroom and my parents’ house. And we are 16 days away from my first wedding anniversary. A year ago, we were putting the finishing touches on our wedding and honeymoon plans and preparing to move into our first apartment.

And yet, not all of my feelings are triggered solely by the memories of last year. Z has just received a job offer for a teaching position out of town that we have decided to accept. While we are thrilled that God has provided him with employment for next year, I am feeling a little nostaligic. This job will mean moving… out of our very first apartment, our first home together- out of the town where we met and fell in love and dated and kissed for the first time and got engaged. Moving will mean the end of my first “real job.” And while it hasn’t been wonderful every day, it’s been a blessing to have an income and I’ve a learned a ton. Moving will mean being further away from many of our friends. And our first anniversary will mean the end of our first year of marriage. A year full of learning how much fun we have living together, of much we love being married.

And our first anniversary will also mark the beginning of our second year of marriage. Which will probably be even more wonderful than the first! This new job will mean the opportunity to go on an adventure together, to learn more about each other, to set up a new home, to make new friends, for me to find a new job. And I can’t help but be excited about all of those things. After all, we’ll be doing them together. And that’s what I signed up for when I made my vows last May!

Choosing Joy,

E

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Big Kid

April 2, 2009

Last Saturday, Z and I took a special trip into the Windy City in order to redeem a gift certificate for massages that we received as a wedding gift from my exceedingly lovely college roommate. Having never received a massage before, i must say that I found the experience to be divine. It was peaceful, relaxing and totally indulgent. Something that we have never done on our own… so, thanks, Kelsey for such a special treat!

But, I don’t need to write about that hour of bliss here… I’d rather share this:

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In the same mall as the spa, there was an entire store dedicated to the colorful, interlocking blocks known as Legos. And for a man who was known as a “Lego-maniac” as a child, this was pretty exciting.

While we waited for our appointment, this was the first place we went.

We got to check out the replica of the Hancock building,

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a giant snake that wound it’s way down the length of the store,

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a Lego version of the mall in which we were shopping,

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dozens of boxed Lego sets,

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R2-D2,

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and even a life size version of Darth Vader. (He’s intimidating even in Lego form! Look how tall he is!)

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The store has stations where kids and parents alike could create their own Lego sculptures for fun and assorted colors, sizes and shapes in bins in the back of the store that you could select like jelly bellies (fill up a cup with whichever ones you want!) to take home with you.

As we wandered out of the store and onto the next, Z looked at me and said, “I really can’t wait to have kids. Then I’ll have an excuse to buy that stuff!”

I’m not sure which made me smile more, the fact that he’s just as excited to have kids as I am, or the fact that I kind of already have one. He’s just bigger than the others in that store. :)

~E

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My husband- Thanksgiving Part 2

November 25, 2008

I’d be a pretty pathetic newlywed if I didn’t mention how thankful I am for my husband! He’s my best friend and my life wouldn’t be the same without him.

Here are some of the reasons I’m thankful for him:

  • He spent a lot of time with his missionary parents in Albania while growing up and is therefore grateful for everything we enjoy as Americans and is good at living on and managing our budget.
  • He also went to boarding school in Budapest when he was 15 and during his freshman year of college here in the states, his family was still abroad. As a result, he is independent, and a confident, capable adult who is still wise enough to ask for advice from his parents (with whom he has a great relationship).
  • He is a great older brother to his 3 younger sisters.
  • He is a very talented musician and plays the guitar, mandolin, and piano- much to my enjoyment!
  • He is thoughtful, careful person and is constantly striving to learn how to be a better husband.
  • He can’t wait to be a dad. (And I think he’ll be great at it)
  • He makes me laugh which in turn helps me to be really silly around him.
  • He’s a good dancer.
  • He’s a good cook, he does the dishes, and can do our laundry too.

Today, we are visiting and exploring another Big Ten campus on our list- Northwestern- before heading to see Wicked tonight. Did I mention that I’m thankful for Thanksgiving week so that I can have time off of work to spend more quality time with my husband? Because I am. :)

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Fever Pitch

November 12, 2008

Have you seen that movie? The most recent rendition stars Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon and follows the story of high powered executive/math goddess, Drew Barrymore, and her romance with middle school math teacher/Boston Red Sox FANATIC, Jimmy Fallon. If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend it. It’s funny and cute and you can watch it for free at hulu.com.

 

Anyway, I sometimes feel like I can empathize with Drew’s character. Not that I’m a high-powered executive or even close to being a “math-goddess”… I’m just married to Illini fanatic. I should clarify… an Illini basketball fanatic. He really doesn’t care two cents about baseball or wrestling and is only occasionally interested by the football team, but when BASKETBALL season starts… all bets are off.

 

Upon waking, my dearly beloved heads straight for our computer where he immediately checks the discussion boards where his fellow fanatics all analyze and make predictions about this year’s team/season. We have season tickets (which are about 30 feet behind the Illini bench!) and he has been practically giddy about being able to go to the games this year. (He’s had to miss 2 due to work and was quite disappointed to not be able to attend with me) He knows all the players by name, position, stats, and is eternally optimistic about how our team will triumph over any opposition.

 

Once, at the mall, we saw Dee Brown (a pretty famous former player) and Z’s exclamation over the celebrity sighting caused the said celebrity to look in our direction and wave. It made Z’s day… he was so excited that he even had to tell the check out guy at Meijer about the incident.

 

He has been known to wait for hours in the below-freezing weather outside of Assembly Hall in order to get floor seats (which are on a first come-first serve basis) in the student section known as the “Orange Krush.”

 

He has been known to paint his entire face orange and blue for games. (And then scare his girlfriend by stopping by unexpectedly after the game- looking nearly unrecognizable in his face paint!)

 

However, there are fanatics out there who are worse than him. Much worse… And if I was going to have to have any sort of competition for his attention, I’d rather it be a group of 6 ft plus guys in basketball uniforms than tall supermodels.  Plus, when the Illini win, he’s in a GREAT mood, and when they lose, he likes it when I comfort him with lots of hugs and a backrub. And I know that he loves me more than the team. At least, that’s what he tells me.

 

PLUS, he loves me in spite (or maybe even because of) my quirks. So it’s pretty easy to love all of his… even if he does bleed orange and blue.

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Date Night

November 11, 2008

Maybe it’s because we don’t have kids yet and therefore don’t feel the urgent need to escape the house all the time.

 

Maybe it’s because we didn’t live together before we were married but for our entire engagement could hardly wait to be able to hang out in our OWN living room and to some extent still feel like we are “playing house” in our apartment.

 

Maybe it’s because I just LOVE quality time and there is something about hanging out in our living room together that is more satisfying than a trip to the movies or to fancy restaurant.

 

Not that I don’t like doing those things. We’ve had some really fun dates “going out” to the movies, for dinner, shopping, or to concerts. (Our first date was to a great little restaurant and then to a Rascal Flatts concert- it was awesome)

 

I just really love staying in with my husband when we are simply focused on spending time with each other.

 

This past Saturday evening, we had just finished grocery shopping and while Z fixed a really delicious stir fry out of all the fresh vegetables we had just brought home, I ran to Blockbuster to use our “free movie rental coupon.” After dinner, Z made some amazing popcorn in a pan over the stove. (Not that microwave stuff that we all take for granted now) This was “old fashioned” popcorn which I had NO CLUE how to turn into fluffy white clouds. His time in Albania with a very resourceful mother had taught him how to do it. The result was perfect, simple, un-buttered, un-salted popcorn that overflowed the pot and popped all over our stove and countertop. We salted it ourselves and then

sharing one giant popcorn bowl, sat on our super comfortable couch and watched our movie.

 

And it was an awesome “date night.” We hadn’t even planned on it. It was just spontaneous and fun and didn’t cost anything. (Unless you count groceries that we were going to buy anyway- the popcorn was a gift from his mom!- And for those of you who don’t have a blockbuster, or a coupon for a free rental, check out your local library! That’s where we usually get our movies!)

 

And for anyone who doesn’t have time for a full “date night,” one of our favorite activities (which we recently discovered when I was recuperating from a minor surgery and didn’t feel up to doing anything else!) is to sit on opposite ends of our couch so that our feet can still touch but we can easily see each other and just talk for a little while before bed. A glass of wine (or milk or egg nog- I can’t wait til after Thanksgiving- I promised I wouldn’t buy any until then!) and a cozy blanket, and we just talk for a while. Z’s observation was, “Sometimes it is hard to be still enough to allow a conversation to naturally form. It’s so easy to just immerse yourself on the computer or doing any multitude of things around the house when you have some down time. But just stopping and allowing time to talk is so worth the time.”

 

Again, my need for quality time makes this amazing for me. But seriously, we don’t necessarily need to have something to talk about either. When we slow down enough to just BE with each other, we naturally find something to discuss… and invariably learn something new about each other or our individual interests in the meantime.

 

I just hope that we are able to do this in 50 years and still learn new things from and about each other.

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A few of My Favorite Things

October 20, 2008

Humming Julie Andrew’s famous song during the writing of my previous post has me thinking about some of my favorite things. Not just my favorite necklace (a gift from my husband for Christmas while we were still dating), or favorite food (watermelon), but the simple things in my life that make my heart joyful to just be alive to be able experience them. Here are a few- not in any particular order.

Autumn: I don’t know exactly when my love for Fall began but I do know that many of the reasons that rustling golden leaves, the amber sunlight unique to autumnal afternoons, and the bite of crisp air that stings your cheeks just enough to leave them a little rosy fill me with a sense of peace and optimism are deeply rooted in childhood memories. The beginning of a new school year was always full of anticipation and excitement for a “nerd” like me. (I’ve come to admit that I really love to learn… and that I was fortunate enough to always have my best friend around so I was never bullied or alone in school) Celebrating my September birthday was always a “big deal” in our house and my parents threw many unique parties (which I’ll describe in a later post) for my friends and I. Apple picking was a special family event that typically culminated in donuts, cider and eventually, Mom’s Apple Pie. And then, there was Thanksgiving which, in our house, officially launched the beginning of the Christmas season- and all of the anticipation and merriment associated with Christmas in our house (also to be covered in a later post.)

While my love of Fall began as a child and was nurtured throughout my adolescence, it was during college that I was finally able to admit my full enchantment with the season. It was one chilly evening in early October of my sophomore year when my good friend, Z, asked me to go for a walk with him. As I was already head-over-heals for the guy and was in daily agony over the mystery of whether he returned my affections or not, I was nearly sick from the nerves that set dozens of flighty critters to cavorting in my stomach. Thinking that I could silence the tumult in my belly, I talked for an hour straight as we took the longest walk of our relationship (and I am NOT that talkative of a person!). When I finally exhausted my repetoire of softball stories and had filled Z in on every detail I could think of about my family’s current status in the world, he was finally able to get in more words than a “uh huh.” The following is what happened next:

Z: “Well, should we keep walking? It’s getting kinda chilly…” (we had taken a break from our miles long hike to sit on a bench in the middle of the Arboretum… still my favorite place on our college campus)

E: “Uh, sure.” (nervously trying to think of something- ANYTHING- else to keep blabbing about)

Z: (clearing his throat) “Well, I did bring you out here for a reason tonight and I want to talk to you about something. I guess there is no point in beating around the bush so I’m just going to come out and say it… E, I’ve spent this semester falling in love with you.”

E: (heart pounding, palms immediately sweating, and mind racing for the perfect thing to say to the most wonderful thing my ears had ever heard) “Yay?”

(Yes, I did say it as a question. I was trying to express the fact that I had indeed been falling in love with him but was rather struck dumb by his simple statement and my mind was too muddled with “He’s falling in love with me! He’s fallen in love with me! HE LOVES ME?!” to come up with a more suitable answer to his unspoken question of, “So, do you love me too?” After a moment, my mouth caught up with my brain and…)

E: “That’s a really good thing.”

Z: “Yeah?”

E: “Yeah, I uh, feel the same way…” (still, very eloquent… I must’ve used all my words in hour long soliqouy earlier!)

Z: (visibly relaxing) “Oh good…”

He went on to explain how he’d been thinking about it a lot and realized that he could be risking our friendship by confessing his feelings if they weren’t reciprocated but after talking with his dad (his go-to guy for advice) he decided to take the chance. (I’m sure glad he did!) We started to walk back to my dorm as he gently asked, “So, can I hold your hand?” Grinning, I pulled my left hand from deep inside my vest pocket (that vest is another one of my favorite things!) and as our fingers inter-laced, my love for him, and for Fall, were forever linked. Now, every October brings back the thrill and excitement of our first few weeks together and reminds me of how it felt to fall in love him for the very first time.

So, yeah, I love Fall.  A lot.

Campfires: They say that our sense of smell is the strongest trigger of memories. I believe “them.” The woodsy, smoky smell of a campfire will always carry me back to innumerable times around a small fire pit with my family and melting marshmallows on the end of shaved tree branches on one of our many camping vacations, or to our fire pit in our own backyard around which high school friends would talk until the wee hours of the morning, or large bonfires at church camp where a counselor would strum his guitar and a hundred middle-schoolers would sing together before bed. There is just something about sitting around a campfire and talking (or singing) that will always be one of my all time favorite things to do. (Maybe it’s because they are extra perfect during the FALL…)

Christmas: I need another post to fully explain all of the things I love about Christmas (and it’s NOT just the presents!)… especially since I already shared my “how my husband asked me out” story in this one.

Reading: If I could spend all day, every day reading and not feel guilty about not doing anything else in life, I probably would. I read my first “Chapter Book” in first grade when I was jealous that my best friend got to sit at the teacher’s desk and read them while the rest of us sat on the floor and had reading lessons. When I shared my feelings with my mom, she handed me “The Boxcar Children” and after just reading the first page, I could hardly sleep because of my excitement over the whole new world that was open to me in “Chapter Books.” I never looked back… and I’ve never stopped reading.

Being Married: Again, I do not have the time, energy, or space to share all of the things that I love about married life but some quick highlights would have to be: waking up next to my best friend every morning and starting off every day with plenty of hugs and kisses, knowing that no matter what is on our schedules each day, that we will end the day with each other, and feeling constantly encouraged and supported in all of my endeavors no matter how frustrated or burnt-out I may feel. I hope that no matter how many years you have been married, you still feel the joy of being with your spouse!

I have probably written enough for one night… if you’re reading this, what are some of your favorite things? What makes YOUR heart sing and fills you with joy? I hope your list is long!

Cheers,

E

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