I realize this will be lost on pretty much every single person who reads this, so I'll just tell you that the title of today's entry is taken from the lyrics of a long-forgotten Tony! Toni! Tone! song from 1993 called "Anniversary". There. I feel much better. What good's a fun little quote if no one knows?
    In actuality, today is not our anniversary. It's actually tomorrow, September 7th. Four years ago today I was battling nervous stomach and trying in vain to eat something. I imagine we were at the church putting up our minimal decorations while Vicky and the aunts were in full swing making the rehearsal dinner preparations. Gosh, was that only four years ago?
     I know that sounds like a negative comment, as if the four years I've spent as a married woman have felt like an eternity, but that's not at all what I mean. I just feel as if I've been married forever. Wait, that didn't really clear things up at all, did it? What I'm trying to say is that being married to Mike felt so right from the beginning that it didn't take long for my pre-married life to seem as if it had been ages before. The first time I came home from work to our shared home felt so comfortable, as if it had always been my home and this had always been my living arrangement. That's not to say that my life before Mike was bad. That's not the case at all. I had a wonderful home and still get along great with my family. When I got married, though, it felt as if my whole life up to that point had been in training for that moment. I had waited my whole life to be married to Mike, even if I didn't know it, and now everything was right with the world.
     That's not an inherent emotion with marriage. Before I got married I was in enough bad relationships to know that being alone is much better than being with the wrong guy. Just being married won't make you happy. Being married to the right person makes all the difference, and I know I married the right person. It occurs to me that not everyone knows the Mike I know, so let me try to explain a little bit why he's my perfect guy.
     Mike and I were great friends before we started dating. In fact, he was my best friend. We were such great friends that I didn't want anything to jeopardize that and tried to deny how I was starting to feel. As I tell Mike often, I just couldn't help falling in love with him. He's such a calming influence, which is great for a high-strung gal like me. He's rational and helps me talk things through. He's fiercely loyal and if he feels I need something will do anything to make it happen. After spending every night but four with him in the past four years, we still haven't run out of things to talk about. In fact, we sometimes still find ourselves up talking way past our bed time. He loves spending time with me and I feel the same way about him. Whether we're staying up late on a Friday night playing video games or walking through Homearama together, everything is made so much better by having him a part of it. He is my true companion. He loves me unconditionally and still takes every part of his marriage vow seriously. When I had my surgery a couple of months ago, it required him to take care of me for a while and face some of the not-so-pretty sides of marriage. He never complained or accepted my apologies. For him, not only was taking care of me not an option, but something he did enthusiastically because he loved me and wanted to be the one to help me through. He hates going to work every day but he does it for us. He is a wonderful provider. Even though things have not gone as planned, he has supported my decision to freelance from home and try to create an environment where I can be home with our future children. There have been months when I haven't had anything to contribute to the family finances, but he continues to encourage me and not make me feel any worse than I already do. He's never made me feel like I'm less important to this family because I don't bring in the money I used to, which has meant a lot to me. He will always listen to me when I need it, even if he feels desperate to fix whatever's making me upset. He knows how to make me laugh. Heck, he knows how to make himself laugh. It's so cute the way he'll just start laughing out of nowhere because he remembered something funny. He's dependable, responsible and caring. He will give anyone the benefit of the doubt about anything. He has made marriage even better than I ever dreamed and I can't imagine that anyone could have made me happier in life than he has.
     We've already reached that dreaded point in our marriage when we decide not to give each other anything for our anniversary in an effort to conserve funds. But you know what? He's taking a day off just to spend with me and we're going celebrate just by being together. I'm an incredibly lucky woman because I would much rather have that than anything he could have given me in a little velvet box. Having him all to myself for 24 hours is such a great gift and a testament to what a wonderful husband he is.
     Happy anniversary, sweetie. I'm proud to be your wife today.