On May 23rd we celebrated 9 years of mawwage! Woah! It has just been one big adventure these years. We celebrated our anniversary with a sushi date and a walk through Amsterdam. . . and some other stuff not mentionable here ;) Riley wrote me the sweetest letter that he read to me overlooking the canals and I just want to remember it, so saving it here on the blog to cherish and read again when he is on my last nerve.
Dear Alyssa,
9 years of being married together. Wow. Pretty cool when you think about it. So many memories and time and places we’ve been together. Never would have thought if you asked the sun-kissed Hawaii version of me if in 9 years we’d be in Amsterdam with 3 kids after having done 5 years in Tokyo. What a ride.
As I sit and write this on our 9 year anniversary, the thought about cats having 9 lives keeps coming to mind. Now, stay with me, I don’t like cats too much, but I think there’s something there. They say cats have 9 lives. That’s pretty cool. Cats are resilient and keep coming back. And for us, for me, as I reflect on our 9 years, I’d like to think that they’ve gotten a bit more resilient our selves. That we’ve used some of our lives and have bounced back and will keep on bouncing back. We’ve had our share of tough moments in our marriage these past couple years but I believe it’s been for the better and we’re on a stronger upward trajectory, constantly trying get better even if sometimes it feels like two steps forward, one step back.
So going into year 9 of marriage, maybe we should be more like cats. Resilient, giving each other another life when we need it. I want a resilient marriage. One that bounces back. One that is committed to unconditional love. I think that’s the path we’re on.
I’m committed to being more vulnerable and transparent. Letting you in, to the deepest and darkest places because that’s what love. The desire to go into the dark together and have the resiliency to come back up to the light. It’s not always pretty and can be scary but it’s deep and it’s real. And that’s what I think we can be. Willing to go into the dark together with no judgement or shame, knowing the the darker it gets the lighter of light we can experience together.
I can easily say I love you more today than I did 9 years ago. I feel like our friendship is stronger and more authentic. I trust you, I value your input and opinion and think I’m a much better person because of you.
So, happy 9 years to my life partner, my travel buddy, my confidant, my friend, my lover, my Alyssa.
Love,
Riley
