Notice the Married Moments

by Anna

What girl doesn’t enjoy a sojourn in 19th-century England with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy?

We love romance and the epic drama of falling in love.

And then we get married and our “happily ever after” begins. And suddenly it’s about grocery shopping, and getting up with the baby on Saturday morning, and how to fit in a date night, and fixing a broken faucet, and the alarm clock on Monday morning… in other words, what’s known as “real life.”

When A.J. and I were engaged, I was always sad when we had to part ways for the day. I wanted to share even the insignificant moments like brushing our teeth, or eating a bowl of cereal in the morning, or ironing work clothes. Being with him was all that mattered, even in the most ordinary moments.

It’s easy to forget that now, and invest my emotions in overt gestures of romance and unhindered time together, but what’s really going to count through all these years are the mundane times and living them as one.

I’m the one he comes home to at night…we eat dinner together and play with Christian. I wash his clothes and put them away…I pack his lunch for him (usually) and I know what flavors of yogurt and granola bars he likes. We know each others’ idiosyncrasies and embarrassing habits…he makes me laugh like no one else can.  He provides for my financial needs…he reads Scripture in the morning before work.  He brings in the mail at the end of the day…he gives Christian a bath while I wash the dishes after dinner.

Yes, this is the stuff of life. This is the way we get to live together, and if God gives us fifty years most of them will be spent in the small married moments, not the grandiose ones. And I’m so happy he’s the one who’s living the everyday with me.

Anna is a 24-year-old wife and mother, saved by grace, who enjoys writing about her simple days at Hope Road.