Seven Years of Marriage

On Thursday last week, Mr. Sweetie dropped me off at the airport and I flew out to Vegas for 70.3 Worlds. Originally, when I qualified last September, we planned to have both of us fly out, as race day would fall on our 7^th wedding anniversary, but then we delayed in getting tickets and financially, it just made more sense for me to go on my own again. Not a big deal, I had lots of friends doing the race, I was staying at the same hotel as last year, and was familiar with the area and could find my way around just fine. The only thing was that I needed to be sure to get myself out of the hotel and spend time with my friends because it can be strange to go almost a whole day without talking to anyone else.

Worried that cutting the cake will unleash the frosting monster in his new wife? Valid concern.

Let this be the lesson of the day: you can never be married too long that you outgrow a good surprise. You know how in movies, one half of the couple will do a grand romantic gesture (stand outside someone’s house with a boombox, run through an airport to catch someone before they get on a plane, etc) usually in the beginning of the relationship, when everything is new and exciting and worthy of grand gestures. On Friday afternoon, I walked down to the hotel lobby to discover Mr. Sweetie waiting there for me, carrot cake cupcakes and champagne in hand, after flying across the country to surprise me for our anniversary and play the role of Sherpa at the race that would take up most of our anniversary, being the great sport that he is. I had absolutely no clue he was planning to fly out and didn’t realize how much I wanted him there and how much it would mean to have him there, until he was standing before me. It was, hands-down, the best anniversary gift ever.

Out on the Vegas Strip for our 7th anniversary.

That night we had a simple dinner in our suite, pasta and sauce from Whole Foods with a side of cheese and crackers and ice cream straight from the carton. I’ve never felt more happy or lucky than I did during that dinner. I’m discovering that’s the beauty of marriage – the comfort and security of simply being together. I’m also not taking for granted the fact that my husband loves me enough to feel that I’m still worth grand gestures seven years into marriage, when it’s easy to let routine and the daily grind make the institution seem pedestrian and yawn-worthy. Being with Mr. Sweetie makes me want to be the best version of myself and being married to someone like him makes it easy to keep things in perspective. When things got a little rough around the edges at the race Sunday, instead of getting upset, I thought of the fact that seven years before I made the best decision of my life by saying “I Do” to Mr. Sweetie and THAT trumps any race result, good or bad.

Cape Cod Beach photo