Eight years

This week Chris and I celebrated our eight year anniversary! I really can't believe it. It seems like it was yesterday until we started going through all our old wedding stuff while helping my sister start planning for her upcoming wedding. I started realizing how out of date everything was so it couldn't possibly have been yesterday! Still, it's hard to believe we've been weathering life together so long already. Still, it's the best decision I've ever made.

We are currently in one of the most physically tiring seasons of our lives. 

We are bending everything...bending our backs to pick up the baby when she's crying, to change the diaper on the floor, to kiss the knee of the toddler when she falls...bending the schedule when someone is sick, needs to work late, or just needs some time for a mental break...bending the rules about bedtimes, who is expected to take care of certain tasks, and expectations.

We are constantly cleaning...cleaning ourselves and the girls, fingernails, toenails, bottoms, brushing teeth, wiping noses...cleaning the house, the kitchen, vacuuming floors, washing sheets, folding laundry, organizing toys...cleaning our lives, cutting out things that aren't life-giving, throwing away stuff that's digging into our time together.

We are not sleeping...not in the middle of the night when someone wakes up with an accident or a bad dream...not in the wee hours of the morning when someone wakes up and is hungry or thinks it's time to get up...not on vacation when we're in a strange place or sharing a room and things are just different...not on our relationship that we know needs attention and care and time to continue developing.

We are always moving...moving physically in the car to work, appointments, and activities...moving stationary on the floor to build towers, play "Elsa and Anna," and to practice crawling...moving forward, past disagreements, trials, and into the future we're building together.

We are tired. We are overworked. We don't get breaks; we're always on. We're being pulled in so many directions. We are wading through so many distractions. We are bending, cleaning, sleeping, resting when we can. We are together. We love each other. We wouldn't change a thing. We wouldn't have it any other way.