5 Years

We postponed our Anniversary celebration this year because I was in Missouri, being the MOH in one of my best friends' wedding on our actual anniversary!  Now, I won't have any issues remembering when our special day is!  In our relationship, I'm the one who forgets important dates :)

As per tradition, we made celebratory banana splits in honour of our love!  Unfortunately, we couldn't get a good picture this year because the camera on Buck's phone is exceptionally lame.  Oh well, it'll have to do!

I give you Buck & Lizard through the years:

Wedding Day 2007

1st Anniversary 2008

2nd Anniversary 2009

3rd Anniversary 2010

4th Anniversary 2011

5th Anniversary 2012

We've certainly been forced to grow a lot in the last five years, and I can see now that it has been kind of a refiner's fire for our relationship as eternal companions.  I don't expect that the trials will get any easier, but I'm confident that we will continually find ourselves better equipped to handle them.

People always say "I love you more now than I did the day I married you" or "I love you more and more each day."  To be honest, I don't always feel that way, haha.  There are days when I love my husband, but I don't necessarily like him.  I can't imagine he's ever experienced that!

I don't feel like I love him more now than I did in the past, but I can say with conviction that I love him differently.  My love feels more complete, less naive.  I no longer love the idea of him--the version of him that has been supplemented by what I imagine him to be.  I've spent 5 years learning his quirks, his nuances, his likes, dislikes, insecurities, the way he handles stress, the way he celebrates, what's important to him, how he communicates, etc.  In many ways, the husband that I see now is different from the husband I assumed I was marrying.  And, while it has sometimes been difficult for me to adjust the lense through which I view him, it is such a privilege and a blessing to get to know him so much more intimately.  

The excitement that I feel now doesn't compare to what I felt during our engagement or on the day of our wedding.  It's so much better now that I've had a real glimpse into our future.  How grateful I am to have a real relationship with someone who loves me enough to really get to know me, and is still committed to me even after witnessing so intimately how utterly imperfect I am.  

Here's to 5 more years!  (Maybe even more!)