weddings: i have been to awkward weddings, tense weddings, stressful weddings, strange weddings, cheap weddings, expensive weddings and the best kind of all - the ones that make you cry - that you believe in, head to toe... mike and i went to one of these on friday night - a friend of mine from high school married a girl he fell in love with the day he met her. they've been together for 4 + years. it was magical, not just because she is absolutely the most beautiful bride i have ever seen, and the location was epically insane, but because they were both glowing and smiling and quite obviously madly in love with each other. their love for one another was contagious and gave everyone an extra sparkle in their eye and spring in their step - to amy and sonny, congratulations. we love you both.

marriage: this brings me to reflect on my own wedding, which had a very "deeply in love" vibe as well, and to the 2+ years of marriage since. it's hard. we're different people, we like different things and we have different expectations. add to that, we have good moods and bad ones. we've had fights where we've both wondered and doubted and struggled and it's felt impossible. we've learned more and more to give those moments time and space, things usually look and feel different 24 hours later. we've learned that the strengths we both have - honesty, loyalty and willingness - totally eclipse our unique weaknesses - stubborn, independent, self centered. we're learning to put one another ahead of our expectations. sometimes we actually have to plan sex and do creative and seductive things to keep it spicy and change it up, sometimes one or the other of us isn't in the mood to have sex at all... none of the lessons has come easy, and i know we will never stop learning... yet as hard as it is, with millions of compromises i never thought i would have to make, i love being married. i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world and i love my husband, for everything he was, is and will be. i also love who i am when i am with him.