5 Things Being Married Has Taught Me

Marriage. It’s kind of a big deal. After my (then-fiancée) and I finished our pre-marital counseling session, the pastor asked us, “So, do you think you’re ready for marriage?” Doug and I looked at each other, waiting to see who was brave enough to step into what was surely a trick question. Finally the pastor spoke. “The correct answer is no. No one is ready for marriage; but you’ll figure it out along the way.” Truer words have never been spoken. Here are a few things I have learned in the four short years I’ve been a wife:

1. You have to laugh

From day one, things did not go as planned. From uninvited guests and a web of family dynamics at our wedding, to a forgetful bride forgetting to pick up the marriage license, my husband and I learned real quick how to roll with the punches. Never underestimate the importance of pausing, whatever the situation, and getting a good belly laugh in. Over the years, we have faced joblessness, tight budgets, broken cars, illnesses in the family, broken bones, and the list goes on and on. I remember one night after my husband had been out of work for a few months, we were trying to scrape together a budget, and just not getting anywhere. He was upset and felt a lot of shame, I was stressed and exhausted from pulling double shifts, and the tension was getting unbearable. My husband made a paper airplane from the spreadsheet we were fighting over, and threw it at the cat, who was sleeping peacefully on the back of the couch. The cat startled awake and fell of the couch. We tabled any budget talk for the rest of the night, and proceeded to bomb the cat with more airplanes. It was one of the better decisions we made during that time.