Ten Years | Our Own Anniversary

Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary.  An entire decade!

Doug and I were married on a glorious September day, under an apple tree at my parents’ house, surrounded by so many special family and friends. We dodged Hurricane Isabelle only by a day and had to do most of the prep the morning of the wedding.  Luckily we have a large family that is good at getting things done…like setting up and covering 50 bales of hay!

It really is hard to believe that 10 full years have gone by.  So much has happened in that time and, as we often feel when we’re being reflective, it seems like just yesterday.  This has been the baby era for us.  We came home from our honeymoon in New Zealand and found out that I was pregnant with Asa.  We hadn’t even finished re-habbing our house yet and were excited to move in and get settled. Now that I think about it, we have spent the past 10 years of our lives, our entire marriage, either pregnant, or with a baby!  For almost ten years we have had a car seat and stroller in our car; a diaper bag packed; and a crib set up in the nursery. Incidentally, I have had very few nights without being woken for one reason or another.  No wonder I’m tired! I am sad to see the end of this stage of our lives and excited for the next.  No doubt the next decade will be filled with school activities, sports programs and busy schedules.

One of the things I love about being a wedding photographer is listening to the ceremony.  It’s always good to be reminded of the vows that people take and the words of wisdom that is shared in the sermons and readings.  Things like: don’t ever try to change the person that you are marrying; never go to bed angry; nobody is perfect; and that marriage requires 100% from both parties.   It is good to be reminded of that because it really is hard to do!  I have learned over the years that marriage is not easy.  Just like raising kids is not easy.  But it is most definitely worth it.  It is worth every ounce of hard work and sacrifice. For me, the joys far outweigh the hardships, and I never doubt for one second the life we have chosen.

We have both changed in the past 10 years but are still the best of friends.  We have stood by each other through career changes, health scares, joys and sorrows.  We have both made sacrifices for our children, as every parent does, because we know that they are the most important thing in this world.  We have moments of sheer frustration and overwhelmedness but they are tempered with monumental feelings of joy and satisfaction.  We look at our children, and our family as a whole, and can’t believe this is ours.  How lucky we are to have these beautiful, funny, remarkable beings in our lives. And how fortunate they are to have us. We are comforted knowing that even though they will someday leave and start families of their own, that they will always return home to us.  Our fantasy retirement dreams don’t consist of exotic vacations but of bustling holidays where we all are together.

I meant this to be a post about us but it has become about our kids.  That’s pretty much how things go around here so it’s only fitting!  This weekend Doug and I are going away to spend some time together and to celebrate our 10 years of marriage.  We have A LOT of catching up to do!  I am looking forward to having an entire conversation without being interrupted.  I am looking forward to a full weekend without dishes and laundry.  I am looking forward to seeing art, dining out, and holding hands.  I know that we will miss our kids like crazy, and probably talk about them and how much we miss them the whole time!  But hopefully we can reconnect and recharge too. We’re going to need it if we want to survive the next ten years!

So, to my husband; Happy Anniversary!  Happy noise, happy work, happy family, and happy us!  Here’s to ten more years of togetherness!  I love you as much as I did on our wedding day!

XO~Kate

NH Wedding Photographer

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