Happy Anniversary Brandon Johnson

Today, B and I celebrate 4 years of marriage. Our children decided they'd help get the celebration started right by waking us up in the middle of the night...Finn throwing up and Liam crying because Finn was throwing up. From about midnight to 5 am, I had changed Finn twice, put a load of puke-covered sheets, blankets, and clothes in the washer, scrubbed the kitchen sink from more puke, watched Cars and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse semi-coherent with Finn, and then when the load of laundry was dry, make up his bed again and lay him down to sleep.

You might be saying "How awful!" You might think it was a terrible start to a celebration of such a lovely, significant day and memory. But, the truth is, those few hours perfectly exemplified the real beauty and foundation of our married relationship. What I didn't mention was B getting up with me every time I rolled out of bed to care for our sick child or moving the laundry to the dryer as I wiped Finn's face or tenderly grabbing my hand to let me know he was there or kissing mine and our child's foreheads as we lay on the couch. I didn't mention B taking the day off of work, so I could recover. I didn't mention him playing with the kids in the basement or changing their diapers or making them lunch, while I caught up on missed sleep.

If this young couple were offered a glimpse to this night four years down the road, I would want them to know that such a relationship doesn't come from years of just easy days.

YOU NEVER "ARRIVE" AT MARRIAGE.

And what I mean by that is that marriage is a living thing 

that requires constant physical, spiritual, and emotional nourishment. 

Marriage is WORK.

The greatest work? Yes. The most rewarding? Yes. But it's work, nonetheless.

We are more than just husband and wife. 

We are a partnership. We are a best friendship. 

We are lovers and we are caregivers and providers 

for 2 (almost 3) beautiful children we created through that love. 

We are each other's physical, emotional, and spiritual support.

Together, with the Lord, we have built and continue to build a foundation of 

faith, hope, and charity-

a foundation that affects our work, our home, our children, 

and every other aspect of our lives.

This picture was taken this morning.

It's not the most glamorous, but it's beautiful because of what it represents:

A real marriage full of real days of exhaustion, frustration, growth, selflessness, and pure love.

And that's what we celebrate today.

Happy Anniversary, Brandon Johnson.