Monday, August 31, 2009

Lucky Number 13


I have a friend who reads my blog who told me that it seems to him that I have a perfect life. Perfect marriage, perfect family.
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It was never my intention to portray perfection- because I am far from it. But, I was hoping to achieve a sense of reality on this blog, and that means taking the good with the bad. Naturally I have a tendency to focus on glasses 1/2 full. There are times I experience perfect moments with my family. And I love those. But, there are also times when our experiences are less than perfect- times my mom card is in serious jeopardy of being revoked. This past weekend, however, was not one of those. It was perfect.
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The husband and I celebrated 13 years of marriage yesterday. Over the weekend we snuck away to a beautiful resort in Scottsdale, while my kind sister watched after the children.
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We had moments to reflect on our 13 year journey and came to the conclusion that we have been blessed beyond our wildest comprehension. But there is always room for improvement. And so we set goals and committed to do better and to be better.
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And we talked. The deep soul to soul discussions I so desperately want to have everyday but are often interrupted by the children when we are at home. And I told the husband that I often feel a sense of pride when he succeeds. Or when he is able to solve a problem. Or when he is entrusted with sacred responsibilities. And I often find myself exclaiming,
"THAT is my husband"
in those proud moments.
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And we played basketball in the pool. And I remembered what a hottie athlete the husband is.
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When I was in high school, I penned an impossible list of qualifications for my future husband.
Some of those qualities I set for the imaginary man were:
someone who respects his priesthood and family
self-respect
sense of humor
kind thoughtful
sincere
good listener and talker
love for the gospel
active in the church
goals
spontaneous
respectful
gentleman
responsible
understanding
adventurous
creative
good looking
intelligent
share feelings openly
hard worker
respects my decisions
spiritual
friendly
supportive
and on and on and on
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The day I got married, I had only known the husband for just under 4 months. And it didn't take me long to discover that I had been given the bonus husband. I came to find that he not only matched, but far exceeded, every quality on the list. Daily, as we interacted, my internal dialogue went something like this:
"WHAT?!? He has that quality too???
I never knew he could do/ say/ be like that!!
How am I so blessed?"
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And I am. Blessed.
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This evening as we celebrated our family's 13th birthday with the children- a tradition we have had for the past 4 years- I looked at their sweet faces, thrilling at blowing out the 13 candles and thought to myself,
"Yes, this is pretty nearly perfect!"
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Post-edit (9/1/09): this morning oldest daughter said, "I can't believe our family is a teenager now!"

15 comments:

Wonder Woman said...

Congratulations on getting a bonus husband. They're a great thing to have around. Ü

Congrats on 13! And for keeping it real over here, and looking at the part that's half full.

Jessica said...

Happy Anniversary! I like the celebrating the family's bday idea. very fun.

Unknown said...

happy birthday to your family,
i think that is a wonderful tradition for your children.
and as i have read your blog over the last half year or so. i have read what a wonderful man you have.

as our family gets older we get happier we love each other more. our years become more perfect.. after 33, imagine what it will be like in 30 more.

Me (aka Danielle) said...

Seriously..you are very blessed! Bonus husbands can be hard to find. I hear there only a few left.

Congrats on 13. Wishing you many many many more!

Heidi said...

Congratulations! It is nice to be able to sit back and count your blessings, naming them one by one. Happy Anniversary to the bonus couple. Thanks for being such great examples to us!

Ruth P said...

You guys are a great couple and we love you! It is so wonderful to be able to see the blessings in our lives. Thank you for your post. It has helped me take a moment and reflect on how truly blessed I am too. You are such a great example to me!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!! May you have many more years together!!!

Loralee and the gang... said...

You ARE blessed! Congrats!
:~D

Sandi and Curtis said...

Congratulations on having family live close by to take the kids for an anniversary! We were not so lucky growing up. We only had ward babysitters to go to the temple once a month. I really like the birthday celebration of the family! Very clever!!!

Randibee said...

Congrats on making it to #13. You have a wonderful husband and family, and I am blessed to be your sister!

Sarah said...

I love the picture! You are both such fantastic people (with pretty awesome kids), and I'm grateful to have had the priveldge to know you!

* said...

I am blessed, too. I call my husband "superman" on a regular basis, and he is.
PS: I love the bonus part!

Mouse said...

That's awesome, congrats! We just celebrated #9 a couple weeks ago (okay, we didn't really celebrate, since I was drugged up from a medical procedure that day...) Isn't great finding out all the new and wonderful things about your husband, year after year?

Claire said...

I totally understand. I got the sixteen year older of the same model.
Those two brothers really have it together and are the most incredible husbands ever.

Nathan said...

Congratulations! I can't wait for our family to become a teenager too.