Our 8th Anniversary

Our 8th anniversary came during a week of protests, riots, and looting here in Philly, and in the middle of a pandemic. There was so much going on in the world, and Devin and my hearts were heavy with the pain of injustice and brokenness. To add to the more serious world issues, on our actual anniversary, an insane thunderstorm ripped through our area and took out our power and shattered our glass table on our back deck. We literally spent hours picking up glass from the deck and the grass around it, because high winds + shattered glass = KIDS YOU HAVE TO WEAR SHOES OUTSIDE FOREVER BECAUSE IT'S BURIED IN THE GRASS AND HOW WILL I PICK IT ALL UP. Then, Devin tried for hours to get our generator up and running.

Not exactly the most fun anniversary.

But in spite of the ridiculously bad week that our anniversary fell on, it's been an incredible year of marriage. Year 8 was a good one: we moved to a new house, FINALLY sold the old one, had Riley, and laughed together a lot.



We're better communicators (I am less argumentative!), we're more gracious to each other, and we're better parents. We encourage each other in our hobbies, and we still have so much fun together. Like any regular friendship, a good relationship takes work: you have to listen well, do things together, and encourage the other person.

Of course, we still have a long way to go in being more like Christ, and we do still argue about stupid stuff (like, why are you on your phone, do you not want to watch this movie?). But we have come SO FAR since that first anniversary. We still joke about the awful fights we had in our first year of marriage (literal screaming matches, sorry about that, neighbors!). In premarital counseling, our pastor told us that marriage--especially in that first year--brings out the best highs and the worst lows. AND THAT WAS THE TRUTH. The fun things were amazing, but the disagreements? ROUGHHH.

In case you find yourself in a place where marriage feels like hard work, or if you plan on one day getting married, my advice is this: ask yourself how you can be a good friend to your spouse. Pray for them, and be quick to forgive (even if you feel like you're "right" in the argument!).

The fun part of blogging for me is getting to look back, which is still true for anniversaries!
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |  5th |  6th  |  7th

P.S. This photo? Taken a few days after our anniversary because the actual day was so rough (and humid and sweaty and unphotographable).

What big or little things are you celebrating this month?