In times of stress and tribulation, we look to those closest to us for comfort. For me, that person is my husband, Chris. We are celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary this week and what a ride it has been.

Ten years ago, I met this crazy, fun twenty-something who made me laugh. Today, I’m married to a strong, dependable, loving man who makes my life better every day. Chris is my everything. We’ve grown together and learned together, and this week, especially, I’m so, so grateful for him.

This love is special. We’re not going to quit each other. We listen. We work things out and compromise. We do everything we can to make this love work, because we want it to. We refuse to quit trying and we’re constantly working to be better for each other, to make our relationship better for us. Chris is the kind of man I’ve dreamed of being married to my whole life. He’s patient when I need him to be, impatient when it’s my turn to be the voice of reason, and we keep each other grounded. He’s taught me so many things about life and how to be a better person, and I’d like to think I’ve done the same for him. Marriage is give and take on both sides, not just one person taking.

I love Chris so much more now than the day we said, “I do.” I love him more now because marriage does change things. There’s a sense of forever that you don’t have when you’re not married. A sense that this thing we’ve built is real and we’ve committed to each other for the long haul. The experiences we’ve shared this past year, too, along with the vows we made to each other, have strengthened us and made us love each other more than I could ever have imagined.

It hasn’t all been pretty. Man, have we argued. But every time we’ve fought, we’ve come out of the experience with the understanding that we’d work on the issue and make life better. And we have. It’s not easy. But it’s so worth it when you find the person who’s deserving of all that time and effort. And Chris is worth that, and more. And one year after saying our vows, we’ve strengthened our marriage in ways I never thought imaginable.

We’ve been through a lot together this year. I returned to work from a lay-off just before we got married and settled into a new job and routine. I lost weight, gained, even got pregnant and had a miscarriage. And now we’re keeping each other solid through this COVID-19 outbreak and all the madness that has come our way. During this time, we’ve looked at each other at least a dozen times already and said if we didn’t have each other, we’d both probably be having much different reactions. But we do have each other. And I couldn’t be more thankful.

So, on the week of our first wedding anniversary, I’d like to say to my husband, I love you. All of you. Not just the best parts, but all the parts. I’ll take the good and the bad, and everything in between for as long as I live. I love you, Chris, and am so thankful to be living this life with you. Happy anniversary, my love.

Love always,

Laura