Three Blissful Years

Blissful is definitely the best word for these past three years. I can’t type that without smiling. Being married to Eric has been the most fun I have ever had in my life. What other adjective could you use to describe getting to hang out with your best friend every day? I still jump up to hug him when I hear his key turn in the lock. He’s my favorite.

When I was in high school, my best friend and I used to rank boys based on their knowledge of obscure Doors songs and their willingness to discuss poetry with us in arty coffee shops (bonus points if he wrote his own poetry!). We were silly, and we (mostly?) knew that, but our ranking system did have an override function. When someone rose far above our petty criteria, he was good. These boys were, of course, largely unattainable, but that didn’t stop us from murmuring to each other, “Oh, he’s very good.”

I have been thinking for months that that’s the perfect word to describe Eric. He is just so good, in every way. He is so compassionate and patient and intelligent and funny and caring and faithful. A friend of mine from college happened to go on a date with Eric before we were dating, and Eric told me about it as soon as he realized that we were friends. When I told her I was dating him, the first thing she said was, “Oh, he’s very upstanding!” And yes, he is. I love that about him so much.

And I love that he makes me laugh all. the. time. Last night we got our birth ball in the mail, and I requested that he say, “I will pump you up!” in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice while filling it with air. And he did. I love that we have our own private language and a slew of inside jokes that never fail to crack us up (isn’t that one of the best parts of being in love?)

And I love the everyday part of being with him. I love being part of this team, I love making decisions together, I love discussing our days over leftovers. I love going to the farmer’s market every Saturday and walking down to the gym together. I love tag-teaming the dishes and having lazy afternoons. I love fancy dinners and romantic getaways and flowers and surprises too, but it’s this everyday building of a life together that I really cherish.

This isn’t to say that there haven’t been hard times in the past three years, but, thankfully, they made us even closer instead of driving us apart. We’ve had our fair share of illnesses and stresses and all the other things that are just a part of a life, and every time we have said, “There’s no one else I’d rather go through this with than you.” When I think about the things that Eric has patiently seen me through, I can’t help but cry. He is seriously the most dedicated and supportive person I’ve ever known.

I can’t wait to see him as a dad. I know I’m going to fall in love with him all over again. Happy anniversary, baby. Here’s to so many more!