on five years of marriage...

Five years of marriage means there aren't any secrets left, which is pretty nice because now I don't have to hide my obsession with 90's pop music, my terrible sense of direction, my slightly intense hypochondria, my penchant for finishing an entire bottle of wine by myself, or my inability to remember much of anything unless reminded sixteen times.

Five years of marriage means the "young love" butterflies have been replaced with the cozy, intimate, content, knowing each other inside-and-out sort of butterflies. Instead of being the girl looking at a boy from afar and wondering what it would feel like to hold his hand, I am a woman standing next to a man and wondering what it will be like to see our baby in his arms.

Five years of marriage means the laughter outweighs the anger and the fancy dinners have been replaced with happy hour at our favorite restaurant. Romance is less about flowers, diamonds and buying the perfect gift and more about being the one to clean the kitchen without being asked, sending a sweet text just to say, "I love you!" and covering the other with a blanket when they have fallen asleep on the couch after a long day at work.

Five years of marriage means knowing how to argue, when to not back down, why sometimes it's okay to go to bed angry, and that – regardless of how much I desperately want to shove him into a wall sometimes – I am with the person I'll be with until we're both old and gray. We've been through enough ups and downs that we know things will look better if you just give it some time.

Five years of marriage means we've learned how to love each other. And continue to learn exactly what it means to be in love.

Five years of marriage means we're no longer newlyweds. (It also means looking back at our wedding photos and thinking, "Sweet mercy! How did they let me get married that young? I was a fetus!") It also means being grateful to have met my other half so early in life and realizing how many incredible moments we have yet to share together. Life is still just beginning.

Five years of marriage marks the last anniversary we will spend as a family of two. It marks the beginning of parenthood and new responsibilities. Before we know it, we'll be another five years down the road – and just thinking about where we'll be at that point makes me smile.

"Chains do not hold a marriage together.
It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads
which sew people together through the years."
– Simone Signoret