February 11, 2011
David and I are leaving for Europe today. In approximately eight hours we will be flying to Spain where we will spend the next couple of weeks traveling to Italy, Greece, Turkey and more. It will be an amazing adventure with my husband, a welcomed vacation from the very busy life we exist in every day. My mother-in-law has flown in to help my mom watch the boys. I already emailed a detailed itinerary of our travel schedule plus the boy’s weekly calendar and daily routine. I do feel a lot of anxiety leaving the boys for such a long period, but I’m constantly reminded that the boys are in good hands, that they won’t remember our absence and that we will never get this time alone for a long time.
The other week I was telling someone about my fears in leaving and she told me that, The best thing you can give your children is a good marriage. In that moment, I realized the importance of this quality time David and I will share alone together. In these last few years we’ve been busy with babies, events and projects. We rarely have time to watch a movie, much less spend more than five hours alone together. In the midst of our lives, the truth is that when you’re tired, stressed or mildly depressed, it’s hard to be romantic, affectionate and loving. As we travel to new destinations together, I’m excited to reintroduce the woman David fell in love with: a woman excited about life, in love with travel and creative in her writing.
Many peers see our marriage and think it’s perfect they see our smiles, our children and our life and think it’s flawless. But it’s far from it. On a daily basis, we jokingly act like Lucy and Desi from the The Lucy Show. With my absentminded words and thoughtless yet funny actions, I give David a lot of material to jeer me with. While most days are surrounded by harmless humor, there are some days when we have weighty altercations. Like every couple, it seems like we’re traveling an emotional and spiritual life roller coaster but that’s what life and love is all about rising and falling, deepening and weakening, opening and closing
In the end, a couple remains on the rollercoaster ride because they jointly committed to being there together. Some people believe that you first fall in love, then a commitment follows. I’ve always believed that after you make a commitment, the love will follow. I can’t measure how much I loved David when we first met or when we finally got married all I know is that we made an internal commitment within weeks of knowing each other and since then we’ve grown in our love because we were able to experience both good and bad events together without giving up.
There are several unmarried males in my life some who are still growing in maturity and profession. As I reflected on a close male in my life with my mother-in-law tonight, we agreed that the only thing that can change him..was a good woman. Not only would that woman motivate him to live a more responsible and meaningful life, but she would give him the unconditional love, nurture and support he needed as a man. Many great tales in this world begin with the loss (or gain) of a woman in a man’s life. A great woman can create a great man or sometimes break a great man.
I hope my love continues to create the great man I know David to be. As we travel this world and this life together, I hope I inspire him to dream more, strive more and be more because of my commitment to his growth.
God Bless and see y’all in two weeks.
Journal Pictures: February 11 2011
Oh yes I did! More professional photos of our wedding
(and our “trash the dress” photoshoot) coming soon!
We rented a paintball place and went at it – love this picture!