Because You Loved Me

Last night, on the way home from an impromptu shopping trip to find some kind of new semi-sexy outfit for our anniversary dinner, I came across "our" song on XM. You know, the song for our first dance at our wedding? And yes, it was the ever-cheesy Celine Dion "Because You Loved Me."

I feel like I should be embarrassed by this cliche of a choice, but to be honest, I don't regret it. And the lyrics still stand true, maybe even more so, after 10 years.

Last year, I wrote a sappy anniversary post for the hubby that pretty much sums up our married life. Not much has happened in the last year - we've got another year of parenting under our belts. We took seven trips home and one trip to the beach. We went on a few dates. We laughed a lot. I cried a bit. We've struggled with how our marriage looks so different after adding parenting to the mix. We've stood over peanut's crib watching him sleep and wondered how we could create something so absolutely perfect.

You know, same old, same old.

I feel like after a decade of marriage I should have some words of wisdom or insightful perspective to share. But I don't. I do know, for me, that as long as we can talk about it, it's okay. That our marriage doesn't look like any one thing, it adapts, shifts, molds itself to fit the current challenge. It's not always an easy road, but I still want to go to sleep with the hubby beside me. He's still the first person I want to talk to when I'm happy, sad, lonely, excited, worried, confused. And that those sappy lyrics sum up how sometimes one or the other of us has to carry the other for us both to be successful at living our best lives as individuals, a couple and a family:

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me

So, hubby, even though I'm totally stressing about packing and leaving our little guy behind, thank you. Thank you for loving me more than I probably deserve, caring for me with a gentle hand and making me laugh. Thank you for being a wonderful father and making the transition from couple to family such a natural progression.

And thank you for this trip to celebrate where we've been and where we are going. I can't wait to see what's next for us.

Happy 10th Anniversary (a day early), honey, I love you.