What is a rookie mistake in your first year of marriage?

Before my wife and I married we lived in a perpetual state of bliss. Oh, and exhaustion.

We simply couldn’t be together enough. Holding hands, snuggling on the sofa watching a movie.

Falling asleep on the sofa and trying to sneak her back into her parent’s house at 2 in the morning. And she’d forgotten her keys. Ok, another story.

I couldn’t imagine life any better. Love, bliss and euphoria stretching off to the sunset on the horizon.

Our wedding came. Magical. She was gorgeous. A super model of brides. But then she was a model, actually.

We went on our honeymoon along the north coast and wine country of California.

And also failed to make any hotel reservations which provided an extra measure of excitement we hadn’t counted on.

Bliss, love and euphoria day after day. And looking for hotel rooms.

We came home settled into our little apartment. And I do mean little. With hanging glass beads that substituted for the bathroom door. Classy place.

But hey, it was cheap and we were broke.

Then real life took over. Work, bills, school, sickness, more bills, squabbles, chores, more bills.

And occasionally wondering, “Who is this person I married and why does she keep doing these things that annoy me?”

And not asking her what she was thinking about me. I figured if it was bad enough she’d let me know.

Somehow, the bliss and euphoria evaporated like dew in the sun. In its place was the everyday life we’d escaped from in our relationship.

Now it was our relationship.

I remember thinking, “Wow, this is marriage? It’s certainly not like the movies.”

And it wasn’t. And it never would be. Because, well here’s the news flash, movies aren’t real.

It was then we actually began our marriage.

When we both realized that we loved each other deep down anyway.

And we’d committed to each other for life.

And we’d promised for better or worse.

And if we wanted a fairy tale marriage it wasn’t just going to happen. We had to intentionally make it happen.

So we did. Day after day. Good times and not. Successes and failures. Easy and hard. We built the marriage we both dreamed of.

A few nights ago we attended a Fleetwood Mac concert. Before it started I took a selfie of us.

She hates those. Part of the reason I do it. It helps her appreciate me more when I’m being good.

I posted it on Facebook and referred to her as lovely which she always is.

A friend commented, “And you need to add ageless.”

I looked at the picture and thought, “So true. She is still simply the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever known. Both inside and out. And I’m so blessed to spend my life with her.”

Maybe it has been a fairy tale marriage after all.

Though, I was a little disappointed he said that about her but not me. But then I looked at the picture again.

No marriage starts out as a fairy tale but any marriage can grow into one.