I am taking over my wife's blog--do not be alarmed. But she is out of town throwing a shower for Betsy and I figure at least one of us ought to keep this thing updated!
Mostly though, I just want to steal a chance to say how much I love my beautiful wife, and if she knew I was writing this I'm sure she'd put the chops on it fairly quickly. So, we're going to ninja it. Sound good? Great.
I've thought for awhile about what I want to write, and I think the big thing to share is how grateful I am for Natalie in my life. Yes, she is gorgeous, intelligent, hilarious, a fabulous and loving mother, spiritual, resourceful, crafty, creative and hard working. She is all of those. But on top of all that she's something more that is tough to explain without relating an experience we had when we were still dating.
Travel back in time with me, will you? All the way to 2009...
Nat and I were in that phase of our courtship where picturing the future version of yourself is difficult to do without the other person being there too. If we weren't talking about marriage explicitly, it was at least sort of implied that we were taking this thing long-term.
Anyway, as was customary at this stage in a relationship, we were hanging out pretty much every dispensable minute of every day (I liked her, alright?). On one such get together, we were at my apartment to study, do homework, etc. and the kitchen was (how do you say?) disgusting. My college roommates were a lot of great things. But tidy, they were not. And about five days worth of moldy dishes were smelling up the kitchen, and in order to focus and study, they were going to have to be cleaned.
Well, I wasn't too thrilled with having to clean them, but I couldn't get any work done while they were dirty. So, I got mopey and decided to bite the bullet and get the dishes washed.
Natalie, no surprise, cheerfully offered to help. I declined with the usual "you shouldn't have to clean up our mess, this is really gross, I'm embarrassed already, let me be the one to deal with it", etc. etc. But Nat wasn't hearing any of it. She promptly rolled up her sleeves, got the ol' assembly line going, and we knocked out the dishes in record time.
Finally, as we unstopped the drain and water was swirling out of the sink, Nat looked up and said (with her unbearably cute smile), "See how easy that was with the both of us?"
Hearing her say that made something click for me that has changed my life since. And what exactly clicked, unexplainable as it is, is contained entirely in that simple question she asked while we were doing the dishes together as boyfriend and girlfriend three years ago. I realized it almost the instant she asked it. I knew at that moment that her question didn't apply exclusively to doing those dishes. I understood that no matter what life had in store for me--all of the trials, struggles, and challenges--it all would unquestionably be possible, manageable, and easier "with the both of us."
That's what Natalie is for me. She's all of those wonderful things listed in the beginning of this post, but she's also my source of strength, help, understanding, and counsel that makes life and all of it's challenges doable for me--so much easier, if you will. What exactly do you call that? I haven't figured out the right words to describe what exactly that is, but however you define it, it can be summed up in that simple little question that my wonderful wife asked on that seemingly ordinary day while we were dating.
I am and will be forever grateful that I met Natalie and that she agreed to get married to me. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that makes our relationship possible for all eternity. Thanks so much, Sweet Pea, for everything you do for me and all that you are as well. You make me so happy each and every day and I cannot wait for the rest of our lives together. Natalie Marie Anderson, you make my life.
