Yesterday, we celebrated 10 years of marriage. We were planning to fly to France and Belgium later this summer for my brother’s wedding, to visit my sister in-law’s fun-loving family, and to have a few days without kids just to ourselves. We had even hung prints of Picot’s Paris street paintings in our kitchen as a fun reminder, but the flight cancellations came last week.
No matter. I’m overwhelmed by how much we’ve been given, not the few things we’ve lost.
Katy’s mom and dad dropped off food for dinner as a surprise earlier in the week, my sister baked the same cake we had at our wedding (the benefit of having a pastry chef in the family), and we danced to our wedding song, “Dust on the Bottle.” It was a dream then, but now, even though we still feel like kids, we can already say marriage has gotten sweeter with time.
It hasn’t been easy. We started in the crucible of the first few years, overcoming my many insecurities, my anger issues, my pornography addiction (8 years sober), and making memories while living on pennies. Katy had her difficulties too, but those are hers to share. When we moved into our house two summers ago, I was running a high fever, getting bloody noses throughout the day, and Katy was pregnant and couldn’t lift anything. Today, Makayla saw a couple moving trucks and remarked, “It’d be fun to move into our house again.” Life when you’re six 😄
My Dad told me before we got married that he knew no one was perfect, but Katy was perfect for me. And he was right. I couldn’t have been found by a better companion, lover, and friend.
Here’s to 10 years. God-willing, 50 more. 🥂
Joel and Katy
#LivejoyfullyDoGreatThingsCelebrateFamily