Today, I celebrate EIGHT years of marriage with Michael! I cannot believe it's been eight years!! We sat down and wrote a few things we've learned about each other over the last ten years together- we argued a bit, and laughed some too!
WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT MICHAEL:
-Michael is organized about one thing in life, and that's about finances. He hasn't quite figured out how to fold his shirts so they all fit in his drawer, but he can have our budget exported into a color-coded, tabbed, formulated excel spreadsheet that turns red when I spend too much money at Target.
-It doesn't matter what time Michael wakes up, he HAS to eat breakfast food first. It could be 1pm- we've been lazy all morning and then scrambled to get out the door, he will never order anything to eat but breakfast first. I think he's the person most excited that McDonalds now serves all day breakfast.
-Michael is obsessed with storms and watching the weather. I've never met someone that refuses to fly in an airplane, or ride a roller coaster... yet wants to go chase tornados or will drive 4 hours to be in the heart of a big hurricane. He is constantly checking the radar and can, more times than not, tell you within 15 minutes when it's going to start raining. It comes in super handy when I'm trying to decide if we need to reschedule a photoshoot or not!
-While we were writing this, I learned that Michael is a little more of a long-winded writer than I am... haha! See below... ;)
WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT ASHLEY:
- Ashley views our home and that state it is in as a reflection of her. I haven’t totally figured it out, but I imagine it’s a lot like the mirror she uses to look at herself in the morning when she’s figuring out what she should wear. All too often, my wife is the only one looking into this mirror of ours and this can be a source of frustration for her. There is some leeway, in terms of how much mess and clutter she allows before she has to drop everything she’s doing and rectify the situation. I have learned, albeit slowly, to recognize when this moment has arrived so that I can be sure to provide assistance and lend a helping hand. This lesson has been a challenge for me. In fact, we hit this line this evening, the night before our anniversary while we were supposed to be writing this blog together. I failed to recognize the moment when it approached, even when she told me straight to my face (one of those moments of selective hearing she will probably write about… I digress). About 15 minutes into the cleaning spree and I realized the error of my ways and got to work helping her out. Better late than never!
-There is a difference between my clean and her clean. Growing up I always did chores around my house. My dad is a bit of a clean freak. So is my sister. And so was my dad’s mother (Nanny to me). I honestly thought I had a pretty high standard of cleanliness. I have learned over the years that it pales in comparison to Ashley. Her attention to detail is impeccable and impressive. Even when she seemingly doesn’t have the time
- My wife is the hardest worker I know. Sometimes it boggles my mind to see the number of different hats she takes off and puts on throughout each day. The modern day has seen a shift away from what used to be the normal roles in a marriage. To be successful in a two income household, there must be a blending of these roles. I will absolutely admit that my wife is much better at this blend than I am. I’m so proud of her as a wife, mother and provider for our family. I consider it the blessing of my life to have her share my last name.
Cultivating a relationship takes consistent, regular investment and effort! We are certainly not experts yet, but we're working on it! We actually created a secret page on the website (you can find it in the footnotes of my new website) that covers some ideas on how you can cultivate & cherish your relationships!
Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, FarmVille, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Available for travel world-wide. Currently booking a limited number of weddings for 2016 & 2017. Contact us today for additional information!
