Five Years

Today's our five year wedding anniversary. I think that we can now be considered "old-timers" with today's standards, right? It's been a great five years. It's been five years of learning, compromising, playing, laughing, hoping, and loving.There's a quote that someone gave us from Gordon B. Hinckley, the previous prophet from our church, and it says: "I believe in the family where there is a husband who regards his companion as his greatest asset and treats her accordingly; where there is a wife who looks upon her husband as her anchor and strength. The cultivation of such a home requires effort, and energy, forgiveness, and patience, love, and endurance, and sacrifice; but it is worth all of these and more."I love that. When we first got married and I read the quote, I was like, "Alright, Ry, I'm supposed to be your greatest asset!" But I didn't really think of my part in the equation....As life has moved forward, I've begun to learn that I have to improve myself first (which, surprisingly I have a lot of improvements to make :) before I can improve my marriage or family.I feel like this is a confessions of sorts, but I'd like to share a learning moment: One day Ryan mentioned something that he was frustrated with about me, but I knew I was in the right, and I was frustrated with him for not being more understanding. He let it go, and I went to get ready for the day. When I was alone, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I was %100 wrong. I was not only taking advantage of Ryan, but I was being ungrateful while doing it. The worst part is that I was in the wrong for quite the extended period, and Ryan hadn't made a big deal about it. The whole time I had no idea I was being inconsiderate until that day (even though Ry had made hints, I just thought I knew better than he did, I'm mature like that). I felt pretty awful...and...humbled? I was grateful that Ryan had been so patient with me. Had roles been reversed, I would have been on his back trying to get him to "change". I've always been trying to learn how to relax the "high-nagging" mode I tend to be set on, but now I'm taking this quest seriously. To me, in that instance, Ryan showed true love ("wuv...twue wuv"). The love that isn't always fun (sorry, my fault), but that keeps things glued together. I love the "dating-I think-I'm-in-love" love and the "engaged-oh-man-this-is-it" love, but this "married-sacrificing-and-putting-up-with-each-other-best-friend" love is pretty awesome. And Ryan is pretty amazing. He's patient, he's much better at being non-judgmental than me, he's witty, he's smart, he's good looking (had to add that), he's in love with his two boys, and he's committed to our marriage, and I know it. What more could a girl ask for? Love you, Ry.

The Perfect Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day. The kids were content, I was relaxed, and Ryan met up with us at 2pm. Couldn't ask for much better.
We have been with out a car for a week and a half. We've taken the bus to church, I've run with Josh in the jogging stroller to the grocery store, we've borrowed Catlin's double stroller (ours is in our car) to go to play at some parks, and we've stayed put at home. One thing I've realized is that we can still do a lot with out a car. The grocery store I go to is a little over 5 1/2 miles round trip, and what better way to get in a great work out, hang out with my buddy, and get groceries all at the same time than to jog there? Also, taking the bus to church took us 15 min. That's about 2 min longer than it takes us to drive there....that's what we'll be doing when we have visitors from now on.
That being said, I still feel a bit stranded with out a car. It's a lot more difficult to get around with two wee ones. Yesterday, I had had enough of that and borrowed Christy's double stoller (she drove it over to us, that was really really thoughtful) and headed on the bus, then ferry, to get to Manhattan. The boys and I went to Hecksher's Park, it's part of Central Park, and spent the whole day there. The boys loved it! They loved chasing after balls, digging in the sand, climbing around, and playing in the water. The weather was perfect; it was in the 70s with no humidity. When Ryan came, it just added that much more fun. Then to top it off, we grabbed some ice cream from a cart and watched part of a baseball game. Okay, it was a softball game. Ryan kept trying to tell Josh that it was a softball game because the ball was bigger, but Josh wasn't falling for it. He knew that ball was a baseball..."See it's a small ball, Dad? It's a baseball!" We headed home, had a quick dinner and bath, and put the kids down to bed. It was just what the doctor ordered.
I don't think I fully appreciate NYC. There aren't too many places that you can hop on a bus, then ferry, then subway to get to anywhere you want to go. There's so much history, shopping (not that I can afford it), great places to eat, an amazing park, great bridges, and the list goes on and on. So thank you, New York. I had a lovely day.