A journey of a thousand days...

...it's been since Jonathan and I married.

Our whirlwind courtship, surprise proposal at the Relay For Life, and wedding...all within 10 months.

Something that's never changed?

I still miss the joy of having my in-laws with us -- and I'll be honest, it still irritates me when people complain about their own in-laws and take them for granted.  At least they have them to complain about.  But I hope I've made Larry and Mary proud by how I've cared for their son.

Things that I love?

Being able to always be myself with him -- through the good, the bad, and the ugly.  We never anticipated a difficult pregnancy and birth with Thomas during our first year of marriage, a year of infertility when trying to get pregnant again, losing several people close to us, or struggling with health issues in my own family.  The experiences gave our marriage and life a richness and fullness -- even and especially through suffering -- that gave us the chance to learn to love through challenges and heartbreak. 

Jonathan grounds me -- teaching me to always be honest with how I'm feeling, and loving me enough to never be dishonest with me -- even though I may not like or fully appreciate the honesty in the process.

Especially during these past few months, we've carved out time for just us.  Spending time every evening over dinner and after Thomas goes to sleep, reconnecting.

At the same time, we've both given each other the chance to grow on our own -- I've taken cooking courses in Seattle and he's worked on his golf game with pro lessons.  I've toasted with yin & yang martinis at the Melting Pot with my girlfriends at happy hour, and he's had monthly poker nights.

One of the best ways that I've seen our marriage grow?

Our ability to enjoy the good and the not-so-good.

Last Sunday night, we came home from a day at the fair (with my mom and Thomas) and football (for Jonathan and my dad).  Exhausted and ready for bed...we walked in to the house to find what can only be described as 2010 Dog Poo Armageddon.

All over Thomas's room. 

Sprayed, all over the carpet, disgusting sickness from a 100+ lb. dog who clearly wasn't feeling well. Jonathan immediately got sick.  Tears just welled up in my eyes since the Wee Ski (who was sound asleep in my arms) was obviously not going to sleep in his room that night unless we wanted to risk his life with the worst fumes ever.

Jonathan got the pack & play set up in our room and we laid Thomas down.  Within a few minutes, we were cleaning up the disaster while laughing so hard we could hardly concentrate on keeping the icky grossness off us.  It was so bad...that it was beyond funny. 

And I realized, with our son's room covered in dog poo, that this was the life I wanted.

Because my very best friend in the world was holding the black garbage bag as I cleaned up. 

With a big grin on his face since he'd called the carpet cleaning people already and they would be coming in to salvage whatever they could this week. 

And today, 1000 days after our wedding, I'm in Chicago, 2000 miles away.  And my heart is full of joy because I know that I'm heading home tomorrow to my two favorite guys in the world -- Jonathan and Thomas -- and they have given me the best gifts I have ever received.

Unconditional love.  Patience.  Joy.  And knowing that they are always in my corner, as I am in theirs. 

Even if that corner is covered in dog poo.