The Big One's Birthday

It's belated but I'd like to acknowledge the Big One's birthday. He turned 37 which is strange to me because he was 27 when we met, and also I don't feel old enough to be married to someone who is 37. That seems like a legitimate adult age and surely I'm not mature enough for such a relationship. If you're keeping track, we've just been married 5 years. We don't think that counts for much because sometimes even celebrity marriages can make it that far. 

When you grow up watching movies and tv that portray married life as dull and monotonous, you just assume that things must be that way most of the time, and that people stay together because they have enough fun every once in a while that its not worth finding someone new. The husbands are useless and uninterested while the wives are unreasonable and naggy. I've always prided myself on being particularly reasonable (Is that funny to you?) so I was certain that whoever I married would appreciate me for just that. "She's just so reasonable!" he would declare to is friends. Turns out, living with another human only goes on to prove that we are all relatively unhinged.

What was I talking about? Oh yes, the marriage trope. I have not found the media portrayal of married life to be accurate at all. And maybe it's because it's all still new. Five years is still new when you're planning on making it to 105 years together, but I think we're on a good track. I'll circle back on this in 15 more. Brett makes me cackle everyday and sometimes we get mad at each other but mostly we wake up thrilled to see the other one still laying there, emanating their morning breath, anticipating the day the day ahead.

The average day here and Oak and Palm Acres starts around 6:30 when Brett's alarm jingle jangles. He lollygags for a few minutes before getting up to read, stretch, jog, or sit on the dock and stare at the sun. "It's good for your sleep rhythm." At some point he'll drag me out of bed (sometimes by my ankles) and then scamper off to greet the animals. He sings and dances as he gets dressed and makes coffee, while I bundle in a blanket and try to be as still as possible. Once he leaves, all of the animals and I wallow around and wait for him to get back home again. He just has this way of creating fun in all of the mundane bits of your day; grocery shopping, laundry, walking dogs. He's just so fun to talk to.

When he gets home from work the dogs and I get the zoomies. Our day just got good! Brett needs a brief window of time to decompress from work-mode.  "How was your day? Wha'd ya have for lunch? Was your boss in a good mood? Wereya able to focus? Did you get much done? How are you feeling? Have you thought about what you want for dinner? Let me tell you about my day...." 
Over time he has learned that he'd better finish decompressing on the drive home... can't imagine why. 

I think he's just the loveliest. I'm jealous of the people that get to sit near him all day. Do they know what a treasure-trove of jokes and wisdom he's keeping a tight lid on? I like watching him pretend to be professional. He's very good at it. No one would ever know that he usually puts a pair of my underwear on his head when he's folding our clothes. After dinner most nights, he finds clever ways to slap me around. (He doesn't like it when I describe it that way.) He'll shove me over the top of the couch, pile on pillows and blankets and then sit on the pile while I try to get out. He gets wild-eyed and lets out high-pitched "Yii!" sounds. He'll get me all tangled up in my own arms and I'm usually laughing so hard that I feel weak and sick. It's my favorite. 

I'll celebrate the existence of the Big Guy anytime.