What's love got to do with it?

Having a baby can really test your commitment to your significant other. Believe me when I say that it's not always easy keeping the romance alive when a crying baby is causing tension. In the spirit of February and the holiday all about love, I'd like to post about marriage.


Yes, I am young and I am married and I am a mother. This path that I have chosen in life has forced me to make several sacrifices. No more partying or late nights, no spontaneous travels around the world, and no more first dates. But through the years of knowing my husband, I've come to learn that the things I have gained in my experiences and choices have far outweighed what I had to sacrifice.

College life proved to be quite a challenge for our relationship, but through the hardships and the tears, our love endured. Who I am, my outlook on life, and my choices have evolved many times through the years and so has his. I can look back to who he was 6 years ago and tell you how different of a person he has become. I could go on and on about how hard it is to be a mother and wife in this blog, but sometimes to make my relationship work and keep my love for him strong, I have to sit and think about how hard it is to be a father and a husband for someone as young and as wishful as me.

2005 - When we were still kids

He works to pay the bills. He sacrifices time with his family so that we have a place to live and food to eat. He has given up partying with the boys so that he can stay home and console our crying daughter on nights that she doesn't want to sleep. He can't make extravagant purchases or spoil himself with goodies because his hard earned money goes to diapers and toys. For all of this, I see him. I see him for who he really is and I am grateful. My heart is filled with a love and gratitude so deep that no words can explain it. 

A lot of people our age now are contemplating marriage and a family and whether or not they are ready for such a big step. From my point of view, making a decision this early in life is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Was I ready to give up my single life? Was I ready to make such a serious commitment? Could I do forever?
Honestly, I wasn't 100% positive of how I felt, and I'm sure he wasn't either. But something inside told me that the only thing I had left to lose was him and I wasn't ready to do that. In fact, I knew I'd never be. Sure there are financial obstacles in front of every path down to the road to marriage, but the question was, would we be willing to trek down that road together? Could we change our ways of life to be together? If that meant that he and I would never have to part ways, then yes. I feel like God has chosen us to be parents at this exact moment in time for a reason and for that, all of the sacrifices we are making are nothing short of a blessing.

Don't get me wrong, marriage is no walk in the park. We fight like any other couple and we need our breaks from home here and there, but I've never ever regretted taking that walk down the aisle. This isn't my sermon on why I think marriage is great, nor is it a way to brag about how wonderful my life is, but it is my way of reminding myself and others how powerful love is because I admit, sometimes I REALLY  need reminding. 50% of marriages end in divorce these days, and in some cases, I wouldn't blame them. But we have to remember how far a little bit of unselfish thinking and praise towards your significant other can really go.

So if you're ever at a crossroads in life, whether it be the question of to marry or not to marry, to go on that second date or not, or to say sorry or not say sorry..swallow your fears and take a chance. You never know where a little love can take you.