Reflection

Saturday was a stressful, yet wonderful day. This weekend I had the privilege of sharing in Crystal Smith's special day by fixing all the bridesmaids' hair. It was exciting yet stressful. The more time that passed, the more nervous the bride became, making her mom even more nervous, leaving me fixing the last two ladies' hair with shaking hands.

The wedding went well and as I sat there watching Crystal's face, I couldn't help but smile. At that moment I was flooded with a multitude of memories from my wedding day and more importantly from the last four years of my marriage. I remember that moment, the moment I walked down the aisle and caught Jarrad's eyes. At that moment I could have been walking down the aisle naked and would not have cared. It truly was the happiest day of my life.

Now rewind for a moment. Go back 13 years. I was 12 with the female version of a bowl cut, baggy jeans and a Dallas Cowboys jersey (I didn't even like Dallas so I don't know why I chose that team). Jarrad was 13 wearing Nike Air Zooms, a puffy jacket and baggy jeans and somehow we were set-up on a "blind date" (you'll notice I'll use quotes a lot in the upcoming content because my parents definitely weren't allowing me to date at the age of 12. I was allowed to go to the movies as long as they picked me up and dropped me off and I was allowed to hang out in the living room with my "boy friend" as long as there was parental supervision). But I digress.....At the age of 12 & 13 Jarrad and I meet for the first time and there was an instant connection. I actually found my diary from middle school and I quote: "Jarrad and I are a perfect couple. I can see us getting married one day."

So I know what you're thinking and NO, we haven't been together since we were 12. However, no matter how hard we tried we couldn't stay away from each other. We were back together again my junior year in high school and that's all it took. I believe I was completely right, even at the age of 12, when I said he and I are the perfect couple. I'm so grateful every day that God provided me with a husband that truly is my best friend first. In my opinion, we are the perfect couple.

Jarrad and I have very opposite personalities that seem to intertwine just perfectly. Jarrad has brought a sense of calmness to my life that I didn't have before. Even now tears fill my eyes when I think about exactly how much I love him. Jarrad knows what I'm thinking before I verbalize it, he's more than happy to take me for midol and ice cream when I'm PMSing, he makes me laugh on a daily basis. For Jarrad, everything is fine and will work out. I feel safest when I'm near him.

I've been talking about mine and Jarrad's relationship to my friends and family a lot lately and one phrase always escapes my lips: "For me, marriage gets better every year." Knowing each other for the last 13 years, being together for the last 10 and being married for the last 4, I've found that Jarrad and I have and still are growing up together. Sure we disagree on lots of subjects, but respect is huge in our relationship. I respect his thoughts, beliefs and opinions and he respects mine. To this point, everything has simply worked for us and we continue to work towards common goals.

Jarrad and I have been through a lot, dealing with the death of his father,dealing with separation as he entered his career in the military and I began college, dealing with his brother being schizophrenic and discovering his mental illness when he lived with us and working through his hospitalization, dealing with Jarrad being off at war, pawning anything and everything to make rent....and through it all, we've only grown stronger as a couple.

And let's not forget, though I mention the stressful times we've encountered, the good times outweigh it all such as....getting Sarge for my birthday and Mackey for Valentines day (those are my two beagles), fishing, the purchase of our first car together, getting out of that tiny apartment, new friends, nice dinners out where we pretend to have lots of money, long walks together, bowling, long conversations during our 11 hour drives to Alabama, the list goes on.

As we wind down at night either snuggled up on our couch or snuggled together in bed, I find myself sitting there staring into Jarrad's eyes and smiling. When I look into his eyes I see kindness, understanding, endless love, patience and compassion and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have married him.

So here's to Crystal and Brad and all couples just now entering marriage. I hope you are as happy as I.



Hopefully I can add a couple of pictures of the happy bride and groom this afternoon.