Different, but the Same

Today is my anniversary. 7 years. And I've been looking back and remembering. 7 years ago, I was nervous and excited. More excited than nervous though. I woke up very tired, but very motivated to get out of bed. This morning, I woke up very tired, and really wished I could stay in bed, but I had to get ready for church...and on mornings like this, I get up and get ready in the hopes that doing things out of duty will still count towards blessings...so the motivation is still there, but different. Seven years ago, my figure was very different, I had fewer wrinkles, and no gray hair. Today, there are signs of child-bearing and child-raising on every inch of my body. I cover the grays with hair dye...but they're there. And most of the signs of child-raising are in the form of spit-up these days. Most days I feel like we have less money than we did 7 years ago. But for all the things that have changed, and all the things that we don't have, there are a few things that have remained consistent. I still love my husband. But it's different because I love him more. I have less money, but more experience. I have less time, but more love and more joys. I cry a WHOLE lot more now than I ever did, but when I laugh, it's deep down belly laughs that only watching and listening to kids can bring. I enjoy quiet nights at home, rather than being out on the town. My frustrations and stresses seem to be more of an eternal nature. My testimony keeps renewing itself as my circumstances change. My memory is shot, but the things that are important are more firm in my mind.
The only thing that hasn't changed, and I hope will forever remain the same is how sure I am that I married the right person at the right time, in the right place. I am no more sure today than I was on that day 7 years ago...and that consistency makes me calm, which is a place I like to be.