Ode to a Decade

10. Double digits. A decade.

Today is our anniversary and as I reflect on the past 10 years of marital bliss I inevitably reflect on all of the lost hairs, gray hairs, sleepless nights, lazy mornings and every moment in between.

Ours is not the kind of romance you read about in books or professional blogs or dream of in movies. Our love is not fueled by candlelit bubble baths, fancy restaurants, or dress-up-and-go-out-on-the-town dates. We don't write love poems, or letters (maybe the occasional love text) or go out on a limb with big romantic gestures.

So what does it take to forge our special brand of romance? A husband that knows his wife needs 9 hours of sleep to be civil and a wife that knows her husband needs to watch sports. All of them.

Our love story is written on the pages that are piled high on every horizontal surface in our house because we are terrible at staying organized. He sweeps me off of my feet by vacuuming or overlooking that ever-growing pile of clothes I seem to always have by my side of the bed. The way to his heart is to have snacks on hand for our lazy weekends and to just be happy.

Our rhythm doesn't come from dancing the night away. Our rhythm comes from years of small, cramped bathrooms and trying not to spit toothpaste on the other's head during our bedtime routine.

We have travelled the world together and have seen some of the most beautiful places known to man but my very favorite place is wherever he is. I don't need a fancy girl's nights out to refuel and refocus, I need a night in cuddled on the couch with my man. Preferably watching an action movie.

He surprises me with flowers once or twice a year because he knows that I don't really need that. I try to make sure he always has clean socks for work.

We were babies when we got married (19 and 23!) Over 1/3 of my life has been spent loving this man and growing into adulthood with him. We've been through the happiest moments a human can experience and dredged the depths of sorrow. Together.

He is mine and I am his. Forever. And to celebrate he is whisking me off to Lake Tahoe and leaving the baby with Grandma. There are a zillion things to do there but we plan to spend most of it holed up in the hotel sleeping, snacking and watching movies.

So, Happy Anniversary to a boy that knows to cheer me up with dark chocolate. From a girl that knows that special twinkle you get when you surprise yourself with a good joke.