For Better....or those 'other' times

(Comic Strip courtesy of "For Better or For Worse" by Lynn Johnston, 4.11.1980)

No one ever tells you how challenging marriage will be.  I guess that's what makes the journey so interesting. Boy meets girl, they date for a while, decide they are in love, boy proposes, and voila!, you have a marriage in the making!  Now, I don't want to seem like I am trivializing or oversimplifying the journey up to this point, but, in retrospect, that was the 'easy' part. 

I couldn't wait to marry Jason...shortly into our courtship I knew he was the 'one'.  Up to that point, I always wondered what that phrase meant...the 'one'.  In the words of "Jerry Maguire": 

"He completed me"...completes me... 

Finding the right mate is like finding that perfect pair of running shoes....they have to be comfortable, sturdy, flexible, supportive, and most importantly, enduring.  I'll be the first to say I am not an easy person to live with.  I am tenacious (stubborn), ambitious (pushy), and eager (impatient).  No one's perfect, right? 

Whenever you take two independent, motivated individuals and unite them into one, you are bound to have a few bumps along the way.  Being married is akin to a lifelong rollercoaster ride...a new adventure awaits with every up, down, twist, and turn.  Jason and I have had our share of adventures...testing the limits of our patience, strength, and endurance as a couple.  Sometimes the most mundane tasks (like taking the car key off your key ring before locking the car and heading to the start line of a running race) can lead to a new adventure (like calling a locksmith on the 4th of July to break into said car where car key is safely nestled along with cell phone needed to call locksmith and wallet needed to pay locksmith) to joyfully listening to said car's alarm blare not so tranquilly for 45 minutes while said locksmith and husband try to figure out how to turn it off.  Yes, our adventures abound! 

I do have to say though, that I think I've found that perfect pair of running shoes in my mate.  His arms provide the perfect place to rest comfortably and read a book, watch a movie, or talk into the night.  His hands are sturdy, always holding us up when it would be much easier to fall down.  His flexibility has allowed us to travel the globe and open ourselves to amazing, unforgettable experiences.  His support has and continues to allow me to pursue my professional and personal passions with enthusiasm.  His love for me and evertyhing he does endures this rollercoaster ride of the better and all those 'other' times in our journey together.  And the best part...we get to cover all of these miles and adventures together...in retrospect, all of those 'other' times make for pretty funny stories too!