15 Years Ago...

15 years ago today, I married Mr Cool. Boy, does that make me feel O.L.D! I tell people that I was allowed to get married at 15... but this is a lie.


When I think back to our wedding day, I have mixed emotions. Now, I know that probably sounds bad, but it was not the greatest time in my life. We married in December, but, in the May before our wedding, I contracted two blood borne viruses: Ross River Virus and Barmah Forest Virus. Both of these wreaked havoc on my body. 


I slept for more than 14 hours a day, not able to make it through a whole day without napping. I would have to nap several times a day just to cope, my uni grades went south pretty quickly and I just wasn't coping very well. I had the maximum doses of Vitamin B injections at least once a week. The hardest part of it all was my loss of short term memory. What this means is that I don't really remember much of that year, or the subsequent one. I don't remember making wedding plans or how I came to pick my dress. It is just a blank. It took at least three years before I started to have regular sleep patterns again and before I started to get some sort of immunity against any virus that walked my way.


So... when it comes to my wedding day. I really don't remember much. I remember driving to the church. I remember 'The Kiss' and I remember the drunk lady who yelled advice to me as we walked into the honeymoon suite at our motel. I don't remember much of the speeches, the guests, the flowers. I don't remember who gave me what or who said what. I do remember that no-one gave us a toaster, we had to go and buy one of those. If I think about it too much, I get a little sad. 


But, then I think of Mr Cool. He is currently patiently sitting and reading while I madly type away so that I can get something ready for the blog tomorrow. He is amazing.


I think of all the adventures we have had. We have caught planes, trains, buses, taxis, boats, ships and trams all over the world. We have made three of the most amazing children I have ever met {I am allowed to say this, this is my blog after all} and we are doing a good job of keeping them alive and mostly happy. We own {well, we pay the mortgages} of several properties and we have a plan for our future. These things mean more to me than who gave us the feather quilt or the coffee machine. 


Weddings are lovely, but, it is what happens in the years after the wedding that make all the difference. Mr Cool and I have spent years perfecting our communication, we speak deeply all the time and we are {usually} on the same page about almost everything. 


For a long time I thought that we were pretty normal. But, after this year, the year where 4 of our close friends have had major marital woes, we see that we are not normal. We are blessed. 


Tonight night we are going out for a fancy dinner. I am sure that there will be lots of reminiscing and lots of laughter. There will also be that quiet moment when we look into each other's eyes with anticipation of what the next 15 years will bring. 


I love you Mr Cool. I am so glad you are in my life. In the words of Whitney Houston from The Bodyguard, "I have nothing if I don't have you".


Mwah.

RemembeRED - Doomed Weddings

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This year has seen 1-2-3-4 marriages crumble around us. Mr Cool and I feel as if we are the last ones standing in a room once filled with married couples. It has been heartbreaking. I wonder if I had been at these weddings would I have seen the signs that it was doomed to fail? I really don't think so. I really don't think people sign up for marriage to see it end in a bitter, hurtful, regretful swan dive of sorrow.

I love weddings. I love the dresses and the flowers and everyone craning their necks to see the lovely bride. I love that I think back to my own wedding where I married the man I loved. When I go to weddings, I go armed with a handkerchief, mascara and a huge bag of well wishes. I pray that the marriage is a great one, not just a good one. I pray that the couple will be happy and that they have talked A LOT before walking down the aisle. I hope and hope that they can muddle their way to a happily ever after. Because, although weddings are lovely, they are really just the beginning. 

I  knew nothing of Mr Cool when we stood before our families exchanging vows - I knew NOTHING - nothing at all. Even though we had dated for around 4 years, I didn't know he preferred McCleans to Colgate, that he didn't really like mashed potatoes and that he took months and months to finish reading a novel. I look back now and wonder what on earth our parents were thinking of to allow us to get married at twenty and a heartbeat. 

Mr Cool and I have been married for nearly 15 years now. We feel we have a successful marriage. We talk all the time. Love each other to bits. Crave each other's company. Make each other laugh. Respect each other totally. Care for each other's dreams delicately. Love our children endlessly. We love to do life together and share every happy and crappy moment. 

So, I wonder if anyone at our wedding all those years ago, sitting in the congregation, thought that our marriage was doomed to fail? If so, I am excited to say that they were wrong! Given what we have been through this year, we know that what we have is well worth fighting for. 'Til death do us part.

I have linked up with 'Write On Edge' for RemembeRED...