We celebrated our 19th anniversary (a week later since we were sick the week of our anniversary!) with going out on a date. Here’s what I wrote the next day on Instagram:
He slept on the couch last night…
No, we didn’t have an argument (although, trust me, we’ve had plenty of arguments over the years), we had both been up and down with a child who kept waking up crying throughout the night and couldn’t seem to sleep. Finally, around 3:30 a.m., I sent him to the couch so he could sleep because I knew he needed to be out the door at 5:30 am to take Kaitlynn to an early skating lesson this morning.
This is love. This is what 19 years of marriage looks like.
It’s him sending me to bed early and staying up for Baby D’s last feed. It me sending him to the couch in the middle of the night so he can get more sleep.
It’s a random kiss in the middle of the kitchen on a routine Monday.
It’s laughing at the toddler’s antics together.
It’s crying together in the middle of the night over how much we miss Champ living with us.
It’s many countless conversations of what it looks to love bio mamas well.
It’s celebrating together every little win that Baby D has — many things that most no one else might even notice.
It’s late-night conversations about how to walk with our teens well.
It’s dreaming about the future and laughing about how we might have to wait another 5-10 years to go on a real anniversary trip together and that’s okay because these bonus babies are worth shelving plans for later.
It’s changing diapers and cleaning up throw up and cleaning up spilled tube feeds and administering meds and driving kids to lessons and practices and therapies and appointments so that he or I can have some time to do something soul-filling.
It’s inside jokes and whispering sweet nothings and flirting when the other least expects it.
It’s showing up when you don’t feel like it, staying when it would be easier to walk away, saying, “I still love you” on the hard days, and asking, “Will you forgive me?” when you messed up yet again.
It’s beautiful. It’s hard.
It’s wonderful. It’s messy.
It’s work. And it’s every bit worth it.
I’d marry you all over again, Jesse Paine. Thank you for 19 years of this wild adventure of life we’ve been on. Even though some days didn’t feel like it, every day has been a gift!
My 8 Goals for This Week
Personal Goals
Delete 1000 photos and videos from my phone.Do one extra house-cleaning project every day (follow along on Instagram for details!)
Reading Goals
Finish reading Fighting Forwardand The Woman They Could Not Silence.Finish listening to The Masterpiece.
Family Goals
Have a date night with Jesse.
Business/Blogging Goals
Write a post on my best tips for surviving the first trimester.Create on IG reel on my best tips for the first trimester.
Book Goals
Work on the Step-by-Step implementation plan for the end of the book.
My 10 Goals for This Week
Personal Goals
- Delete 1000 photos and videos from my phone.
- Do one extra house-cleaning project every day (follow along on Instagram for details!)
- Make a new Habit Tracker.
Reading Goals
- Finish reading The Flirtation Experiment, Win the Day, The Woman They Could Not Silence, and Beneath a Scarlet Sky. (I’m trying to finish up my January Reading Goals — we’ll see!)
- Listen to The Midnight Library.
Family Goals
- Take Kathrynne to a movie.
- Go on a date with Silas.
Business/Blogging Goals
- Write a post on How to Eat Out Less
- Create on IG reel on 5 Things I Do Every Morning.
Book Goals
- Finish the Step-by-Step implementation plan for the end of the book.