on 9 years {married}

nine years ago today i married the best guy. 

eleven years ago, we were set up on a {semi} blind date in which i was neither looking for a boyfriend nor expecting anything serious to come of the date. but, on that night kelly said something about wanting to live the creative life, and i was hooked. forever. i'm sure i fell in love that night. 

our marriage, like any, has had incredible highs and super dark lows, but filled between the best and worst moments are mostly ordinary, run-of-the-mill days that make me the happiest and luckiest girl in the world. it really is the daily buisness of living life together that makes a love strong.

last night we were walking home from the train as i was going on-and-on about any number of problems in my life. we were almost home when kelly said "it really is great to have someone to share your worries with everyday." his words stopped me in my tracks, helped me look up from all my so-called problems and i thought, yes, yes it is. it's really great. 

because partnerships are a collection of tiny moments made up of walks from the train, and coffee runs in the afternoon, and texts sent during meetings, and jokes shared, and dinners eaten out. 

last week, while i was in the middle of a busy conference teaching schedule, kelly did the laundry, and grocery shopped, and cleaned the house, tweeted for me, and bought a cord for my iPad. and when we were finally home, and exhausted, sitting on the couch eating pizza, i looked at him with gratitude realizing again that no matter the good gifts in my life, he was my most prized possession. 

that's the wonderful thing about marriage. you get the amazing privilege of living together, and making decisions side-by-side, and approaching life as a team. every single day. 

last year, we considered moving to los angeles so that kelly could continue his work as a filmmaker. because when you're married, you consider crazy things like moving away from your family, and friends, and chicago, and everything you've known in order to help your partner live his dream.

and, because sometimes it takes a potential move across the country to make you realize that the dreams of your husband are now your dreams, and your marriage has become about choosing the best for each other and experiencing life together, regardless of where you live. 

nine years made up of thousands of ordinary, love-filled days.

happy anniversary, kelly. cheers to a million more days.