I've blogged before about things you hear when you get married young, and those still ring true. But now that I've actually stayed married for more than 72 days, there's been a new question added to the mix.
Do you regret getting married so young?
While I think people should probably use their manners and never ever ask questions like this, I'm more than happy to answer them with a big, fat no.
Every so often, I go through what I refer to as a mid-life crisis (though I hope I'm not halfway through my life already!) It's usually just something like wanting a tattoo or wanting to chop all my hair off or change some things in my life, but sometimes it actually feels like a crisis. One where I question all of my life choices, ever, and wonder what I will ever be able to do with my life with an degree in English.
Talking through these things with a best friend over coffee is great. But talking through them with the same person you'll be with ten years from now is fantastic. I know that no matter what, even if I have made ALL the wrong decisions and everything falls apart, I will still have someone on my team. And there just aren't even words for that.
I crave adventure. All kinds of it. I want to travel and see all sorts of places, of course, but I also want adventure here, now, at home.
It's fun to plan the future, to dream about all the trips we want to take. But it's also fun to just hop in the car and go exploring on a Tuesday night. Adventure can mean Australia, but it can also mean trying that new taco place across town. When it's with your best friend, it's all adventure.
We make the big decisions together. Where are we going to live? What's the first car we should buy? This part of life is full of those questions, and it's nice to have a partner in making them. When you're both planning on sticking together for awhile, it tends to make you want to make each other happy with the big decisions. Also, I sometimes don't make the best decisions under pressure. So it's nice to know that I won't have to explain to a future spouse why I own a house in my college town and drive a neon pink car.
We really are growing up together. I am an adult, living an adult's life, but I still feel like I have so much growing up to do. And I think I will probably feel this way for a long time...maybe forever. Sure, getting married young isn't for everyone. I'm sure there are people who maybe do regret it. But I don't. Having someone to do this with..to make the bad decisions and the big decisions, to go through the hard times and the best times and the let's-just-wing-it-times, there's just nothing like it.
I've read countless articles about things you should make sure you do before you get married, and I haven't done most of them. But I know I made the right decision, because when I read these kinds of lists, all I want to do is make plans with Chris.
Because once you've met the love of your life, backpacking through Europe without them just doesn't seem like fun at all.
