Sixteenth Anniversary

A few weeks ago, I asked my wife if she loves me. I was half joking, half curious. She didn’t give me a straight answer; therefore, I asked her if she trusted me. She said “yes” without any hesitation. I can live with that.

If our marriage depended on love, we might not lasted to this day. Love is like a faucet. It turns off and on. Once the romantic period was over and reality kicked in, love could turn into hate.

Fortunately, our relationship has built on trust. We trust each other enough to stay together. Trust is the foundation of our marriage. If our trust was broken, everything we had built together would have collapsed. As a result, we guard our trust with our lives.

We never had any financial conflicts between us because we trusted each other. We never had any infidelity issues because we trusted each other (“ain’t nobody humpin’ around”). Trust not only keeps us tight, but also frees us up so we can be independents. We never had to worry if one of us was up to no good. We trust that everything we do, we do it for our family, our kids, and our relationship.

Trust helped us weathered through many storms in our marriage. Even when we faced serious issues, trust prevented us from walking out of our relationship. If we could make it through the night, we trusted that we would see a brighter day.

This past year has been fantastic for us. We made peace—not war. Of course we still argued, but we made up quickly. We still stressed the hell out, but not because of our relationship. We got out more and socialized more. Meeting and getting to know other people made us appreciate each other. We gave each other space to do our own things once in a while. I could go skiing by myself or out drinking with my friends while she held down the parenting floor. In contrast, she could spend time with her family while I held down the parenting department.

This has been the best year of our marriage so far. It took a decade and a half for us to finally figured out each other. I hope we will do even better many years to come.

I love you and totally trust you. Of course, I always know you love me too. Happy sixteenth anniversary!