10 years ago a boy asked a girl to be his girlfriend in an elevator while speaking in the third person. That boy is now a man, and a father to a little boy who we will meet in a couple short weeks.
10 years ago I said yes to a question a boy I liked asked me in an elevator while speaking in the third person. I’m really glad I said yes, because that little word changed my life forever.
Christian and I didn’t know each other super well when we started dating, we had been flirty in those last weeks of highschool, but we didn’t go on a date until the first week of summer. We went on a date every single day for seven days straight that first week. The seventh day we rode in that elevator. I used to think I had to be really close with someone to want to date them. I thought I had to be on best friend terms before I’d feel comfortable dating in general, but I didn’t hesitate when he asked. I just knew I enjoyed being with him, and he made me laugh and happy, so it made the answer pretty easy.
Neither one of us were Canadian Citizens at the time. I was close to the end of that long journey and he was only getting started. We were youngsters. 17 & 18 with big dreams and similar backgrounds that bonded us more than we knew at the time.
We attended the same college, which was a huge bonus, but our hours there were very different. I often say Christian has always been an incredible cheerleader in my life, but this isn’t a new quality of his. He’s uplifting and motivating, and he’s been that way for me since the day I met him. He dreams big dreams and he’s forever reaching for the next big goal, and it’s hard to stay stagnant with someone like that by your side, so I too have reached and dreamed and together we’ve achieved some pretty remarkable goals.
I once called him from the warehouse of a place I worked at soon after graduating. I was crying and telling him how I couldn’t have sacrificed as much as I did in school just to end up doing this. I felt like my morals were in question constantly with my job forcing me to photoshop women and young girls and I just couldn’t do it. I had a job, and right after graduating too, a job many would be thrilled with doing but my heart was so conflicted and my skills were barely utilized. I felt stuck and upset because this was the job we moved away from home for, this was his gift to me, letting me start my career first while he did whatever job he could do. He very clearly told me that we were to focus on me first, and once I had some experience and felt good with being able to apply at other places, then, and only then would he make his career a priority. Yet here I was, being ungrateful and not able to get past the nature of the job. Without a moment’s hesitation he just said, well hand in your two weeks, we’re too young to feel stuck anywhere. You will find something else and we’ll live off my income for a while, just quit and let’s try something else.
Self-less, always.
When we got married, 5 years ago, I knew I had won the lottery. This man was all mine, and we had already done so much in our first 5 years, and now we had a lifetime to accomplish goals together, what an exciting beginning.
The first 5 years of marriage have been incredible. In some aspects it feels like we have been together for much less, and in other areas it feels like it’s been so much longer and I have no idea how we fit so much growth and change and love and life in only 5 years. We’re celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary while preparing for the delivery of our baby boy and it is so incredible for this event to mark our anniversary and the first five years. The next five years are going to be so different in so many amazing ways that I can’t even figure out the words to tell you how excited I am.
In these first 5 years we have raised Congo from a little ball of adorable fluff to a doggy adult who still gives us the warm and fuzzies. Dogs have different levels of importance in some people’s lives, but for us he’s been the little guy that has depended on us this whole time and look at him thriving, healthy and well. We love this little munchkin and I can’t wait to see his relationship with his little human baby brother grow in the near future.
We have grown in an incredible way in both of our careers but I watch Christian work in admiration. At his focus, care and passion for the work he does. He’s grown so much and I can confidently say neither one of us expected him to be doing what he’s doing now at the level he’s doing it. It just speaks to his determination and his goal driven mindset when it comes to work. He inspires me to shoot for my career goals and he was the one that encouraged me to make the switch from Graphic Design to Product Design, a decision I am very happy to have made at the time that I did.
We have grown in our health and nutrition together. There’s something about getting older and how your body decides to process food differently. Bloating, Acid Reflux, Weight gain, Back Pain and reduced flexibility, and we’re not even 30 yet? We had to work through a lot of these together, learn about food, learn how to cook proper food and learn what foods affect us in negative ways. We’ve gained weight, we’ve lost weight, we’ve worked out together and kept each other motivated through rough days. It’s been a journey of health and discovery and it has been a great ride, knowledge is good in this department! Though we still would like to feel awesome after eating pizza like our teenage selves used to, haha.
We’ve also lost some amazing people in our lives while we’ve been together, Three grandparents, an aunt and uncle, and two babies we lost too soon. It’s no question having that rock there when tragedy strikes is extremely helpful in going through grief. No matter how painful these moments were we have relied heavily on each other for comfort rather than tried to keep it all to ourselves and it has always lifted the sadness when it’s been shared.
We’ve made lots of money mistakes and good money decisions! We purchased our first home together got a brand new car and many of the other ‘normal things’ people do with money, but we also celebrated a huge accomplishment just a month ago, we became debt free of everything but our home. That means no student loans, no car payments, no line of credit, no credit cards.. All our money goes into our pockets now, into our mortgage, our savings, our retirement and our lives. We are so excited to be able to travel more often and live and give like no one else. Together we have become so responsible, so smart, and so consistent with our financial goals that this little baby is being born into a debt free family and he’ll be taught good money habits early in life. Suddenly the family tree has changed and it’s an incredible feeling.
Overall, our life together has been filled with an overflowing abundance of love, compassion, trust and respect. I thank God for all the blessings in my life but most of all for this man I get to call my husband. I am grateful for his life, all that he is, his childish humour, his ridiculous jokes, his kind and gigantic heart, his selflessness, his admiration and love for me, his protection and his health. I am so lucky, so very lucky to have found him early in life and I pray for a super duper record breaking long life ahead by his side.
Love,
Mariangelica
