12 Years.

Andy and I met in the fall of 2010. I had recently broken up with my previous boyfriend and so despite wanting to take my time to feel things out, I found myself falling in love with this man. He teases me now that I married him for his money, but we all know he was in his first year of undergrad and I helped put him through college with my meager teacher wage. So truly, if I did marry him for his money, I was a big time gambler. Luckily, I really just loved the guy. I loved how he helped me out every chance he got. It didn’t matter if it was because I felt deathly ill one day after teaching and he rushed over and offered to pump me full of IV fluids… he did not… I’m too afraid of needles, but instead he let me snooze on his lap, probably looking absolutely horrific while he played with my hair. And for those of you who don’t have curly hair, when you play with it, you end up walking away with a fro. So if he could still love me after seeing me like that, then you know he’s a keeper.

He’d also help me cut out and prepare materials for my class on top of doing his own school work. Heck, he’d even grade these painful-to-read second grade papers. We juggled his school, my masters school and full time job and found time to see each other nearly every day. He’d trek across Houston traffic just to spend a couple of hours with me. I’d make dinner for the both of us and then he’d take me out on the weekends. It was a wonderful trade! I feel this partnership has continued pretty much the same. I saw an instagram reel that said, “Things that just make sense in my marriage.” And showed the husband throwing his dirty clothes next to the hamper, but not in it. The wife followed soon after and picked them up and put them in the hamper. Then it shows the wife tossing a bunch of boxes into the garage, and then enters the husband with a box cutter and breaks them down. Andy has helped me recognize some of my weaknesses and I’ve grown because of it. He’s also built me up and helped me feel more confident and loved. This may sound generic, but I actually really struggled to feel loved even by those who loved me most. After maybe a decade of being married I don’t struggle with that and I know it is because of his relentless unconditional love, even when I’d act crazy and ask him “Why do you love me?” It used to drive me up a wall when he’d say, “I don’t know, I just do.” But one day, after really pushing him for a better answer, he said, “Look Elise, I love you because I do. Not because of anyone thing. I love your cooking, I love your humor, I think you’re beautiful, but if any of those things went away, I would STILL love YOU. I don’t love you BECAUSE of those things. I love you, because you’re you.” It may not make sense to some, but that was probably one of the most romantic things he’s ever said to me.

We have been through a lot. Death of friends and grandparents, the births of our four beautiful children, schooling, teaching, more schooling (medical school!), residency (that was a doozy), and now attending life. We’ve moved twice (which isn’t that bad considering we’ve also dealt with the army this whole time). If I had to go back, I’d choose him again. He truly is my best friend and brings me so much joy. I love spending time with him, even now. I used to wonder– when I was single– how you could want to spend eternity with only one person, I get it now. I’m excited to see what the next twelve and more years bring us, but I’m truly thrilled to see what this next stage of our life brings.

I got all the kids st. Patrick’s day shirts, but it’s too crazy busy after school, so I didn’t get a chance to snap a picture of Max and Maverick in there shirts, but at least I caught two of them. I felt a little more festive this year than previous years and bought the kids gold coins and made a St. Patrick’s day dinner of corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage. I have to say, corned beef is probably one of my favorite styles of beef.

We celebrated our anniversary with a massage chair. It was one of the things we talked about wanting once we were done with training. In order to fit it in our bedroom, we had to do some rearranging. We ended up giving the crib away to someone in need as well as rotating sides of the closet so that I could now have an art studio where the nursery used to be. It’s not done yet, so more pictures to come, but I am excited to have a place to work!!

Beverly has been begging me all week to do a “spa day.” I told her I had time Saturday afternoon when the boys would be at a birthday party. She asked every day until then if it was Saturday yet. I thought we’d do facials, pedicures, and some makeup, but it turned into a bigger production and we wound up pampering ourselves for two hours. It was fun though!