Today my husband and I have been married for 10 years. It has become the most important anniversary milestone in our twelve years together and our ten years of marriage. It is a realization in itself that we have been married this long but there is no denying the fact when I also remember that our oldest is now eight years old. Time really does pass you by. I recently was given a wedding dvd from one of our wedding guests after I told them we had lost our wedding dvd in a move. We watched it last night with my sister and it was remarkable to see just how young we were only a decade ago. It almost seems like a whole different world we were living in as newlyweds.
We we currently still living in the ‘bubble’ of my conservative christian university in the days before my husband joined the military. I had my parents’ relationship, a couple who raised their children overseas and loved travel, as my vision of marriage. I think it is safe to say as newlyweds we both had a more fantasy view of what our life together would be like throughout our marriage. I had no foreshadowing of the hardships to come our way. The stresses of military life, starting a family and raising children, being far from family without a support system, the sudden loss of a parent, and how it would all affect our marriage. On top of it all it became hard to name a couple I knew that were still married amongst our military friends and acquaintances, and more easier to name those who called it quits.
In the end my husband and I stayed together, moved abroad together, and have begun a whole new life for our family as expats in England. Life has never been sweeter. Yes life has still been hard and we still find our moments of stress. However we know that we have each other. Being married to your best friend and experiencing all the ups and downs together as partners is what has made our marriage stronger.
I am so happy to begin another ten years with Ryan and to continue our life overseas. Though we are no longer those naive newlyweds in their early twenties, we have both evolved into the people we are today. I love my husband so much for who he has become and who he is to me. Something I mentioned in my vows a decade ago. Today we are getting ready for our Vow Renewal ceremony here in Snowdonia, Wales. It is been a long anticipated event that we now share with a few family and friends. It is not our ‘happy ending’ but just another new happy beginning to the next chapter of our love story.
Have you been following along for love week?
More coming tomorrow and here has been the
guest posting line up for the past several days:
with the hashtag: #RyanAndBonnie