Marriage - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Mama's Losin' It's writing prompts this week are interesting but the one I chose is:

How long have you been married, and which years were the best and hardest?

This, I think I can answer that question with some authority.  The Hubby and I have been married 36 years now.  It's hard to imagine that, 36 years, living with the same person.  I don't feel that old and I don't feel like that much time has passed.  The Hubby and I met on a blind date.  I've written about our meeting, engagement and even our 25th anniversary that was so special here.  The first year was probably the best, but it was also the hardest.  We didn't have a lot of stuff or money, but we had a great apartment and each other.  Songs on the radio can transport me to that year in 1976, a cool breeze through an open window in the spring, certain smells, that year was the best, but for me it was also the hardest.  

I was 19 years old and had never been away from my family for any length of time.  Here I was, married to the guy that swept me off my feet, living in a different town so unknown to me.  I know it was only from Broken Arrow to Tulsa, but at the time that was so far away.  Growing up in a small town, which Broken Arrow was at that time, we rarely went to Tulsa.  I did not know how to get around in Tulsa, and felt so alone and lost, yet I had to be with my husband, the man that I loved dearly.  There were a lot of tears and a lot of laughter that first year.  Again we were mere babes.  We had to learn how to budget our money, manage our household, pay our bills, do our own laundry, cook our meals, grocery shop...the list was endless and never ending.  

We still drive by the apartment building and remember, and that is where we renewed our vows (here).  That was the year we began the foundation of a lifetime together. 

I don't think I could be specific on a "hardest" year.  We've had ups and downs but not necessarily in the marriage.  I'm not to be so naive to say we haven't had some bad fights but they don't last and they don't make our marriage.  Somewhere back in my memory I can remember hearing about the "7 year itch" but we didn't have that.  Actually, by that time we had one child, business was booming, I was going to school, life was good.  Another seven years and we were still trucking along in business and another kiddo.  Probably our roughest years have been when there were hiccups in the business and it made us stronger and more united.  

Marriage is not a bed of roses sometimes, but it is also where I want to stay.  I LOVE MY LIFE!  It's very hard work and if I let the first fight scare me off we would't be here today, 36 years later, two beautiful daughters, a granddaughter on the way, a successful business, etc.  It is endless.