By: Paul Morrone
Time flies when you’re having fun, so it’s no surprise that the past decade has gone by in the blink of an eye. No, I’m not talking about things here at the office (which I do very much enjoy), but as I sit here on the dawn of Jill and I’s 10-year anniversary (August 29th), I can’t help but wonder – where did the time go? Some reading this may laugh at that after celebrating much larger milestone anniversaries – including my parents who celebrated 40 years on July 12th – but it is crazy for me to think that Jill and I have been together more than a quarter of my life.
It’s safe to say that the 20-something version of Paul could not wrap his head around being married, never mind living 10 years happily-ever-after. Sure, it was always a concept I could get behind, but I never could quite see myself getting to the finish line and saying ‘I do.’ But here we are. Now this isn’t the part of the story where I say “but it wasn’t without it’s challenges” or something to that effect. I’d argue quite the opposite. Sure, kids are hard, work is hard, life is hard. But that would be the case, married or not. I’m not ashamed to admit that we’ve had a blast together, which is something that I’ve quickly learned not to take for granted.
Now I am not going to sit here and pretend to have unlocked the secret to a happy marriage – especially when I’ve learned so much from many who will be reading this, starting with my own parents. Their 40 years is nothing to be taken lightly, and have been a blessing for my sister, Kelly, and I as we each grow our own families.
And let’s be honest, none of us are perfect. I certainly have my flaws. I’m stubborn, persistent, impulsive and get hangry like Joe Pesci in the snicker’s commercials. Those qualities can be taxing when you’re on the receiving end of them. But at least only one of us drew the short straw. From my perspective (and for fear of jeopardizing my 10-year anniversary before it arrives), let’s (for argument’s sake) assume Jill is perfect. So perfect that my mom tells her she is a saint and that she loves me despite my many flaws. Sounds like a fair deal to me. Isn’t marriage interesting!?
Every day that goes by, I have even more respect for those who celebrate anniversary milestones spanning multiple decades because of how many things must go right for so long to keep a healthy relationship functioning. Sure, love is part of it, but you have so many things out of your control that can impact your life (namely, health) that I do think luck (some may call it fate) comes into play as well. Whatever it is, I hope to test the limits and look forward to the challenge of writing these updates as we look to our 20th, 40th or more in the future!
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