8 things I’ve learned about marriage

Celebrating 8 years married 🥰 Here are 8 things I’ve learned…

1. Love doesn’t have to be grand gestures. We rarely exchange gifts on special occasions, or even cards for that matter! Today we haven’t even uttered the words “Happy Anniversary”, but we enjoyed a lay in together and have both acknowledged the date in our own way.

2. On that subject, it’s not about words, either. We barely even say goodbye to each other when we leave the house! But that doesn’t represent a lack of love, in fact it represents a wealth of trust. Trust that we’ll come home again. Trust that we’ll be loyal when we’re apart. Trust that we love each other deeply enough that words aren’t required. Trust that our actions speak louder than our words. Trust that we never need to prove our love to each other.

3. We don’t argue, and no, there nothing wrong with us! I remember when we were adopting and we’d written on our report that we never argue. The social worker was perplexed and asked us to remove it, stating that the approval panel wouldn’t believe us! It’s amazing how this throws people. Sure, we’ve (I’ve!) had the odd outburst since the kids arrived, but generally speaking, we’ve never really argued. And I love that about us.

4. Having similar interests really bonds us. Sure, we have our own things too. But sharing a love of board games, Eurovision, theatre, all things home & garden related, and having similar tastes in TV really means that we get to spend quality time together experiencing things we both love.

5. We also both have a shared vision for our ideal life. I think this is vitally important, to be striving in the same direction.

6. We share similar core values. We’re both very honest people who absolutely value integrity above all else. We believe in doing the right thing, even if it’s to our own disadvantage. And we always take accountability for our actions.

7. We also share similar views on society. We have our eyes wide open, and can truly see things for what they are. We don’t watch the news. We can see where the system is failing. We can see why people behave the way they do. We always look at the bigger picture and seek alternative methods and viewpoints where we can, whilst remaining grounded in reality and avoiding wearing tin foil hats!

8. We actually like each other! It’s incredible how many people I meet who love but don’t actually like their spouses. And I was the same with my ex, too. So it’s not a judgement, I’ve been there! But Alex and I really are best friends.

Here’s to the next 8 years, and many more!

❤️❤️❤️