A Perfect Ten

For some reason the passage of Jeffrey's and my tenth wedding anniversary yesterday has found me a bit nostalgic.

This perfect September day in 1999 does not feel very long ago:


But, now we find ourselves here:

And, I must admit that some significant amount of time has passed.

The past ten years have brought many things, more changes than I can even comprehend, but here are the top ten discoveries for me from marriage.

10- Friday nights when the kids are in bed early, ordering take out and watch a movie or favorite show at home.

9- America really is full of lots of open space. We had a quote we would read in high school debate about how there was plenty of room in the country for more people, based on all the open land in the Midwest. I may question the science of sustainability of the logic the author was employing, but having moved across the country three times, I can definitely vouch for the quantity of open space between Wyoming and Nebraska.

8- Running. We celebrated our five year anniversary by running the St. George marathon together. Never would have considered that I would love running, but am glad we discovered it together.

7- Jeffrey really is a handy man. Given his parentage, I never expected my husband to be handy around the house, but then we bought our first home, our first drill, and Whoa! He can do ANYTHING (if he really wants to, which often he doesn't, but...).

6- Working together. I like working with my husband. He is my best critic, editor, sounding board, colleague. I have loved campaign trails, desks across from each other in Congress, community projects, home improvement projects. All the times we have gotten to work side by side.

5- Getting Away. Among my favorite memories are the times we have gotten away, for an evening date or a family vacation. I have come to love these chances to leave behind daily life and focus on one another. It began with a perfect Honeymoon in New York and has included Oregon, California, Arizona, Chicago, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bear Lake, San Diego, Florida, the Outer Banks, Minnesota, St. George, Williamsburg, Park City, Sundance, Boise, Lincoln, Nebraska, Bethesda, Salt Lake City, Manassas, maybe even Marietta, Ohio and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (although those two tie for the scariest motels on the planet and may not count). Anywhere we have been together has been bliss to me.

4- The beauty and blessings of the temple. It seems to be woven throughout all the significant moments of our lives, including our sealing ten years ago, doing work for family-members, working in the DC temple together, visits to temples throughout Utah, California, Arizona, Minnesota...

3- The providence of God. I could never have planned the course of life that has unfolded for us, but through it all, things have always turned out better than I ever would have conceived was possible.

2- The joy of parenting. I could never possible have imagined the wonder of Mia, Maggie, and Elsie Jane.

1- Jeffrey. Every day, I still wake up happy to be facing the day with Jeffrey by my side (even if, given his early schedule, it is most often figuratively right now). Life really is sweeter when you are married to your best friend.