I Still Like You

by | Sep 14, 2015 | Throwback | 12 comments

Hurdle after hurdle, this year keeps throwing twists and turns at us that should trip us up.  I saw this image a few weeks ago, on a particularly hard day, and thought…yup.

But the truth is, the only real option is to just keep moving forward.  It’s to the point now that when we hit a hurdle, J and I just look at each other, hold hands, and jump.  We know what it’s all for.  And no matter what the situation is, we have each other’s backs.

I get asked a lot about our marriage, our relationship.  And the truth is, we’ve never actually had an easy go of it.  From day one, things have been hard.  A kind of hard that I’m not even sure I can articulate to you.  The kind of hard that’s a book waiting to happen.  But in reality, it was the best preparation for a happy, healthy, and strong marriage.

We joke sometimes that the one thing that was determined to destroy us only set us up to be indestructible.

We stand together, always.  Our life is almost always chaos.  We’re both constantly chasing after dreams, doing whatever it takes to make those happen.  We’ve grown.  We’ve changed.  Every single day is different, producing some new unknown.  And everything seems so damn scary almost all of the time.  But it all seems possible with someone standing next to you, whispering in your ear the reminders you need to hear.

I’ve had this friend since I was thirteen. This boy who saw my future even before I could.  The man who knew I’d become this woman, who practically pulled her out of me.  The husband who taught me that I could do more, be more, have whatever I wanted, and helped me along the way.  He’s stood by me, even when I wasn’t the best version of myself.

Failure is easier to swallow when you come home to someone who pushes you back out the door the next day, promising it’ll be better this time.  And when it isn’t, they have ice cream waiting.

Life is hard, friends.  And sometimes I think we have it harder than most (why? seriously, why?) but this hard life feels easy with him.

People ask me what to look for in a future spouse.  They ask me but how do you know for sure?  I’ll never understand why I’m the person these people ask; I know nothing about dating.  I married the boy who sat behind me in 8th grade PE, who practically stalked me into dating him (who I then pestered into marrying me).  But if I had to offer some words on the topic, I’d say to think about what could possibly be your worst day ever.  Then think about the kind of person you’d want there with you in that moment.  You’d probably want someone who could comfort you, listen to you, understand you even when you can’t say words.  In my case, I wanted the guy who could make even my saddest heart laugh.

Find the person that even on your worst day, you can look at them and say you know, it’s lucky we still really like each other.

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12 Comments

  1. Beautifully written!!! Life is really tough, but when you've chosen someone who makes it easier to go through life with then it's magical! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston

    Reply
  2. Aw so beautiful Joey. I too feel like our lives are in total chaos all the time. There's no stillness. But we do our best to weather the storm together. Always together. Love your advice on knowing if he's the right one for you.

    Reply
  3. Such a great post! Nothing beats finding that special person to stand by your side through all of the bumps in life. Even better if they're someone you can enjoy the ride with. 🙂

    xoxo
    Kat

    Reply
  4. This is so beautifully written, thank you as always for sharing your thoughts and feelings.

    Reply
  5. Love this, Joey. I feel the same about my husband 🙂 He knew my deepest, darkest, ugliest secret before we were even dating and he still wanted to be with me. That's how I knew he was a keeper. Love that you have your hubby. And know that I'm praying for y'all! I feel like that's my life right now too. I really do have so much to be joyful for and it could be so much worse but at times, it just feels really hard.

    Reply
  6. I love this!! I think you are right and you know what you have is true love when they have seen the worst of you and only want the best for you 🙂

    Reply
  7. Love this!! BRAVO lady!!! I seriously don't know what I would do without my hubs sometimes. He has been there for me during some pretty challenging times. Life is definitely better when you have someone standing by you during it all. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Girl, this is how I feel about DG. I don't say it often enough to him. But when I came home on Saturday afternoon after working 15 hours the day before, and 6 that day, and our house was completely clean and organized, I almost cried. I appreciate him so much for being my person! xo

    Reply
  9. A-MEN. I don't even know how to put into words for this post except that I'm so happy you're with that person for you. I'm so ill at people who are all love at first sight and shit. But that's a post for another day. Seriously – couldn't agree more! Life is hard, sometimes marriage is hard but when it's that person it's so worth it.

    Reply

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HI, I'M JOEY

Mama, indie author, wife, believer and friend.

My only hope is that while you’re here, you feel a sense of belonging, comfort and empowerment. Because life is too short to live it worried you’re not good enough.

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