Young Marriage

Alex and I met when we were barely teenagers. He became my best friend quickly, and he was also my designated school dance date! We were best friends for around 2 years before we decided to give dating a shot. February 4, 2014 will be 7 years since we began dating. 

In 2010, after 3 years of dating, we decided that we were ready to be married. I was 20, and he was 19. People were very opinionated about our future. They would tell Alex that we were "too young" and that it "would never work." People would rattle off some divorce rate that they read on the internet, but my response would always be "but is that statistic about us? No." 

We weren't a typical couple. We were best friends long before we were boyfriend and girlfriend. We didn't rush any part of the relationship, and we felt that we weren't rushing into marriage either. October 2, 2014 will be 4 years since we've gotten married, and I have never regretted a single second of our marriage. 

Here are some things that make our "young marriage" work:

1.) We don't listen to statistics or compare our relationship with others.

 We are who we are. We don't look into what everyone else thinks we should be doing. If we would rather sit at home on a Saturday night and watch Modern Family, then that's ok! 

2. We aren't just spouses; we are best friends. 

Laughter is a huge part of our marriage. We joke around all the time, but we know when to be serious. If something funny happens, he's the first person I tell. If he's sad, I'm the first person he comes to. 

3.) We don't hold grudges. 

If we have a knock-down-drag-out fight over something, that fight is over when it is over. We don't hold it against the person in the next argument or anytime we feel like bringing it up.

4.) Arguments are short lived and quickly forgotten.

It is OK and perfectly healthy to argue!! 

I vent and get all 500 kinds of crazy, and he waits for my head to stop spinning. He's calm and I'm far from it, but we make it work! And like I said above, we let the arguments go when they're over.

5.) We make time to appreciate each other. 

We accept that neither of us are perfect, but we love each other through it. We have a daughter and another baby on the way, but we still make time to be man and wife. If it's just a simple "I love you" or "I miss you" text, it's still something! It's so easy to lose your relationship in your parenting, so it's crucial to have a "date night" or to make your spouse feel important too.

I am by no means claiming that we have a perfect relationship, but I just wanted to share what works for us. I don't think I'm an expert, and I know not everyone has the same type of relationship we do. I just wanted to talk about my marriage for a brief moment. I firmly believe that we will last forever, and that's because we work on our marriage. It's not 50/50; it's 100/100.