I have now been married for a little over 3 months! I know, newbs…but 3 months have come and gone and left me learning a ton of things. Our first week started off very…let’s call it interesting. We got married on a Sunday and spent a few days in Orlando going to my dream land, Harry Potter World. Once we got home we spent one night here and the next several nights at the hospital, yes hospital. Ahhhh just what you expect when you’re living in wedded bliss as a newlywed right?? Yeah no. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. Unfortunately Joe ended up with his first ever kidney stone and it was a doozy.

From the most magical place on earth to the hospital room is challenging, adding an expanding business is even harder. Joe is a brilliant mechanic and took a huge opportunity to expand the size of his shop right at the same time we were planning a wedding. Needless to say we were both under a ton of stress and it made our first month of marriage incredibly interesting. I’ll be honest, we fought a lot! I was frustrated that I was spending every night at home alone while he was working super late at the shop. His work had become such a sore spot in our relationship that I was becoming really bitter whenever the topic came up which was all the time. Needless to say the first month was rough. I knew marriage was going to be hard but this was hard. Where was that wedded bliss that everyone talks about?!

I have a theory about wedded bliss, it doesn’t really exist. Before you get all sad like I burst your fairy tale bubble…I think that’s okay; I actually like it this way. Why you might ask? Well, it takes a TON of pressure off of me and hopefully you too. I knew getting married would not be perfection by any means but I did think we’d be in a little bubble of bliss for a little bit. But I had it wrong. Real life doesn’t exist in a bubble of bliss because it’s not real. Real life is hard, it’s messy and complicated; it’s heartbreaking and incredibly exciting. Life is so much better than that little bubble of bliss that I imagined my first few months of marriage was going to be. Joe and I have had some BIG fights. You know what I’ve appreciated most about them? Joe’s persistence in pushing through them and reminding me that these fights suck (big time!) but that they help us to learn more and more about one another. The fights lead to grace and forgiveness.

I’m learning how to be more humble, patient, and gentle. I’m learning how to cook nutritious meals for two that don’t consist of just turkey hot dogs and mac and cheese (hi pasta!). I’m learning how to share a bathroom sink and “my” space with another person. Everything is now “ours” and that’s new for both of us.

Life is different but so much more full. Joe and I both have gotten what we’ve always wanted; someone to share our life with. We both have a whole history of things that have happened before each other and now it’s us moving forward together.

Now, does anyone have advice on budgeting? 🙂 He’s the saver, I’m the spender…any tools to recommend?

Photography: Emma Shourds Photography

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