4,003 Days of Laughter (& Counting)
The following is a guest post from Meg Buckingham of A Chicken Wish.
I met my husband when I was 18 years old, so freshly out of my protected bubble that I hadn’t had time to unpack all my bags in my dorm room yet. He was so much fun – never needing a plan, always up for an adventure, and insanely charming. Quite the opposite of me at the time. We spent that first year of college growing a very strong friendship and everyone knew it was only a matter of time before we admitted how we felt about each other and made it official.
He asked me to marry him almost the instant school was over and we excitedly started the married part of our journey together when we were 23 years old. I realize now how young we were, and how little we knew about ourselves, never mind the world or marriage. I suppose that can be a killer of marriage, the inexperience of youth and young love. But for us, it has been quite the opposite. We grew up. Together.
Admittedly, we have changed since we were those teenagers. I am not as insecure, I am more confident in myself and my presence in the world, and more open to being wrong and not always in control. He is more responsible, more willing to share his opinion and has become an incredibly selfless man. Over the years, I think we’ve done that for each other – both gently pressing the other to grow, to look inside and out and continue to adapt and change so that we can be better people for ourselves, each other, our family and the world.
But there’s been one common thread through it all. There has not been a single day in the last 10 years, 11 months and 16 days that he has not made me laugh. Even on the tough days – and trust me, there have been tough days – there is always at least one moment of laughter between the two of us. It’s not planned comedy or always bust-your-gut hilarity, but I can’t remember the last time I didn’t break a smile and giggle because of this man, and I credit that laughter as being the guide on our grand adventure.
Six physical moves (one of them gigantically risky), 12 different jobs, graduate school, the birth of an amazing child, financial hardships, the death of a beloved mother and fertility issues over a decade add up to something that when you read it all at once, seems really daunting. And sure, some of that was challenging and not our best days – but we did it together. We’ve always been equals, we’ve always supported and encouraged each other, and we do it all laughing.
And at the end of the day, when our son is tucked in and the dishes are washed and the computer turned off, there is nowhere in the entire world I’d rather be than tucked into his arm, safe and together.
Thank you for sharing this, Meg!
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Do you agree that when it comes to marriage - and to most other things - laughter is gold?
Previous Posts on the Here Year/Marriage:
The Here Year Month #3: Marriage.
The Here Year, June: Marriage (A Design So Vast)
"We Are a Work-in-Progress." (A guest post)