The Gift of 2022

I think we are past the point of being labelled as “newly-weds”. It feels like we have been married forever - and in the best of ways. I don’t remember a time before him, or what life was like before him. But I do know that I now cannot imagine a life without him. 

Many people ask me what my favourite thing about marriage is. It’s everything. I cannot pinpoint it down to one thing but can sum it up as this: it’s having my person unconditionally, every second of every day. It’s coming home to someone. And knowing that that someone is waiting for you to put your foot through the front door. My person to do everything with, to tell everything to, to share every moment with. It’s the feeling of completion. 

I miss my fairytale wedding. The dreamy essence of it, the whirlwind emotions, the beginning of our happily ever after. I miss the build-up, the memories of the day, the beautiful honeymoon that followed. But I also cherish every new day that I build into a future with my husband. Marriage as a newly wed has taught me so much in just a mere seven (!) months. Being married to a significant other is as scary as looking into a mirror…to have your flaws so obviously on display - and often pointed out - and to make the conscious effort to fix them can be a startling revelation. It takes an insurmountable amount of self-awareness/reflection, sacrifice, and compromise. But the biggest test as a newly-wed is discovering selflessness. Knowing when to give something up - even just a moment of pride or a fraction of your ego - or when to go above and beyond for your partner simply because you love them, is an art form I think can take a lifetime to master. 

I have learnt there there is not enough time in the day. That balancing work and married life is a juggle that makes me wonder how many more juggling balls can be added to the clock. I have learnt that me-time is a rare luxury, that reading a book is now a myth (a tragedy that I’m sure has made many of you wonder if this is even the same writer as old), and that online cooking tutorials very cleverly masks my inner rookie (never-entered-a-kitchen-before-marriage) cook. Google has the best cooking hacks FYI. I am living proof that you can have never handled a spatula before and somehow spin out dinners that keep the husband (and the in-laws) impressed.

But the most beautiful part of marriage is how it elevates you as a person. How it makes the heart feel more than you could deem it capable. How it nudges out a side of you that is more confident, more liberated, more empowered. Because you have one person in the whole world who believes in you more than no other. But that one person is enough. 

2022 brought me the love of my life. With it came a second family that I am honoured to call my own. It brought me unexpected change in the form of a new job (commuting will eventually kill you, guys) - fingers crossed it all goes well when it kicks off in the new year. It has been full of so many of my favourite, heart-warming moments and memories, so much change, so many answered prayers…all of which I am grateful for with all my heart.