WARNING: This post is rated T for excessive gushing.
Yes, friends, today marks the first anniversary for Katie and I. In terms of the gift-association thing, the first anniversary is the “paper” one. I would imagine this is because most people have served each other with divorce papers by this time; thankfully, we are not in that group.
I’ve found, over the past few weeks, that Katie and I both have suppressed a lot of memories about the time leading up to the wedding. As I’ve discussed previously, it’s hell planning a wedding. Especially when you’re living with either set of parents. Even more so when you’re planning the wedding from 300 miles away. To anyone out there thinking about getting married at any point in their lives, please heed these words: give yourself at least 18 months, and get everything done IMMEDIATELY. You will thank yourself later.
Being married has become ingrained in our minds as being the true moment where we jumped into the “real world” – we were still a little sheltered post-graduation, like nearly everyone who graduated in 2002. We now have to juggle constant bills, taking care of a cat, keep an apartment as clean as possible (which isn’t very clean, it seems – largely my fault), balance out car usage, balance out parental contact, fight for the TV, etc etc etc.
It sounds like a hassle. But for every little tiny bit of stress that the married world has added, there’s been an equal or greater positive to tip the scales back. Randomly buying a kite and going out to the little park near our house to fly it. Our mutual hilarious inability to cook. Going for a swim together. Running to the door when the other gets home to give them a hug. The list goes on and on.
Every day I’m finding another reason to love Katie, and every day our relationship grows. For this, I am eternally grateful – and it’s because of this that I have to laugh at people who ask me “didn’t you get married a little young?”. Who wouldn’t want a new reason to smile every day?
So here’s to one year; join us again in a year’s time for the Cotton Anniversary. (Who came up with these, anyhow?)