October (and a second year of marriage), here I come!

As pointed out by the wise guys on the previous post, September has indeed ended... and with it our first year of marriage.

Usually when a year ends or an anniversary of some type goes by, I usually think to myself wow, where did the year go? But in this case I'm not thinking that at all, because the year was so full.

Besides the usual business of going to work and staying alive, we had to set up the house because we got it habitable before the wedding but decided to do it up as we went along rather then spend lots of money all at once. So, as we needed them, we had to go find and buy appliances and furnishings, and Mike renovated one-and-a-half rooms (the box room is in progress). The housework, laundry and cooking can be very mundane, but they really fill up the days, and then there's the whole learning-how-not-to-have-disasters thing (the damage so far: two almost-fires, and a lot of grey underwear).

Under all that, we were also learning how to live with each other, which is mostly nice but of course not always *grin*.

All the married people I know would always smile knowingly and say things like "Marriage is hard work" and I thought to myself, hey, how hard could it be? But they're right, it IS hard! Mostly because you can't just do everything your own way, I think, you have to factor in each other and that's not always fun.

But, on the whole, the nice parts of marriage (like curling up in front of the TV together, and enjoying each other's cooking) are worth the not-so-nice parts (cleaning the toilet, and having arguments).

These days, marriage is becoming more uncommon among people our age, especially the way we did it (not living together beforehand), and I can understand this because making such a big, irrevocable commitment is very scary. I was very scared about it myself, actually.

But the terror was worth it - I'm glad I married Michael and I'm ready for the second year!

We just had a fantastic five days in Gozo to celebrate our anniversary, in the same farmhouse where we spent our honeymoon, and it was a very quiet, relaxing time. At first it felt strange to be spending so much time together without errands to run or housework to do, but then we had fun just being tourist-y and lazy and relaxed.

Gozo is definitely our holiday destination of choice because you get the best of both worlds - when you want down time, in the farmhouse there's cable TV, a pool, games and a small but adequate kitchen. When you want to get out, it's easy to get around by car, and it's not far at all from the shops in Rabat to the beaches on the coast. And, you speak the language!

We both missed the cats (awww), and it felt too quiet without the mischief-making Fuzzball, but we didn't miss his silent but deadly farts.

Anyway, here's to many more years together - may my cooking skills and Mike's washing-up skills both improve along the way.

Comments

[ninuhadida]

happy anniversary :)

[Steve Holmes]

Happy anniversary and may you have many more. ;)

[wen]

Happy Anniversary!

"These days, marriage is becoming more uncommon among people our age, especially the way we did it (not living together beforehand), and I can understand this because making such a big, irrevocable commitment is very scary. I was very scared about it myself, actually." I totally agree. I was kind of scared too and I had lived with Red for over a year! :) But I am very glad that I got married, as you said, there are so many wonderful things in marriage that I wouldn't change for anything :)

I agree that the hardest part is that one is used to doing things in a certain way...I remember that I would keep my books and music in one side of the unit :) because it was "my" territory hhehehehehe :) Now everything is mixed because though our music preferences are very different that's exactly what makes it so cool :)

[Red]

Congrats! I think that marriage is one of the most beautiful events in life! When living with another person, conflicts are bound to occur, but the most important thing is to know HOW to solve such conflicts! :)As long as there is respect and tolerance for the other person - together with a strong will to overcome problems as a couple - there is little to fear! :) Awguri!