I don't think I have shared the story surrounding my marriage in this space; perhaps I haven't gotten the courage to do so, but I know there's a lot of information that may serve as a guide or lesson to young people planning to go into marriage. You may watch out for the post in my blog one day; not a promise anyways.
I am looking forward to the 10th wedding anniversary of my husband, come December 29, 2024. Wow, it's been a journey. But before I talk about my 10-year anniversary, there are other anniversaries I will be looking forward to this year, one of which is my first son's birthday anniversary on April 23rd. Out of my three boys, this is one birthday that usually throws me into a big reflection of motherhood. I had my first son, my womb opener, my star boy, as a premature baby. I had twin pregnancies then but lost one inside my womb at 28 weeks of the pregnancy. Most of you who visit my blog frequently may have known this story or perhaps missed it. But then, that I survived that complicated pregnancy was only by God's mercy, and then my premature baby surviving the whole drama was by God's grace too; no wonder I named him Chisom, meaning God is with me.
In summary, the doctors couldn't believe I could survive carrying a dead baby with a life baby for an additional 5 weeks, and they couldn't believe that my life twin (my first son) would be born unharmed due to the whole situation surrounding his birth. This is why I always look forward to April 23rd, when I reflect a lot on my motherhood journey and my gratitude to God. It's always massive in my home; both my husband and I will always pop champagne for the another 365 days of my son's existence.
Having said that, the 17th and 24th of June are my birthday and my husband's birthday, respectively, and thus one anniversary we don't fail to recognize, as well as my two other boys birthdays in May and November, respectively. As little as the anniversary may be, we don't fail to recognize everyone's big day in my home, pray for the celebrant, and cheer him or her up with a gift.
The journey so far...
Completing 10 years together has been an anniversary my husband has talked so much about prior to our wedding. Due to what transpired before our marriage, he marked the date to celebrate our 10 years together and our silver and golden jubilee, God's willing. So far, we have passed through a long journey together, suffered, struggled, and survived. There have been celebration moments, learning, growth, disagreements, conflicts, and resolutions. I won't say it has been a bed of roses all along, but we keep getting better in our marriage at every phase we pass. Many aspects of my life, as well as my husband's, have improved since we married. It has been a learning ground as well. Training the kids together has brought a lot of experience.
On that day...
We do not plan to make it a big celebration yet by inviting friends, family, and well wishers. The invites will happen on our silver and golden jubilee celebration, but to mark our 10-year anniversary together, the plan is to observe a 3-day vacation, kids excluded..
Waking up in an exclusive hotel with lots of romantic activities, but mostly, it's going to be a day of reflection on how we started, the journey so far, what to include or adjust to spice up our marriage, and lots more. I have designed in my mind what that moment will look like, and I hope it will yield great ideas for a more lasting relationship as we look forward to celebrating our silver jubilee.
Images 1 and 2 are mine.
Image 3 here.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled The Next Anniversary
Thanks for reading through.