Ten years ago this November, I said “ I Do” to a lifetime of adventures, Sunday morning snuggles, belly laughs, friendship and a shared love of pie. Ten years has passed by too quickly. It feels like just yesterday that I was walking down a long aisle in a historic Pinehurst chapel, arm in arm with my Godfather. I saw my handsome soon-to-be husband waiting for me at the altar and my mother crying in the front pew. So much has changed, so much has transpired since then. Our last decade included a few firsts, several exotic adventures, countless tears over a loved one lost, and two dreams realized.

The past ten years brought us to our current destination in life and it is full of surprises. I thought I’d have two kids by now, a mother who loved being a grandmother and a husband who felt fulfilled by the profession he held a degree in. Instead, I have no children (yet), my mother passed away and the economy made a mess of my husband’s career. That’s how it goes, isn’t it? We make plans, but life fools us. You think it’s gonna zig, and then life zags. Predictability is overrated anyway.

But just because my life hasn’t followed the blueprint I designed, doesn’t mean it’s been a lousy decade. It was full of meaningful lessons, places I never dreamed I’d visit and a love that has grown stronger with time. I’ve learned that just as it’s important to fight fair, compromise and love one another; it’s just as important to be silly, laugh every day and to appreciate the small moments in life because they can be just as precious as the big ones.

Losing my mom was a gut wrenching and life altering experience for both of us, but out of that tragedy grew the need to live life to the fullest. No more dreaming of things we’d like to do or places we’d like to see – we do it, we see it. If we want something, we work hard to make it happen. Putting an end to working an exhausting, stressful job because it payed the bills, my husband took his passion for fly-fishing and made it his new career. Life gave us lemons and we made the best damn lemonade possible.

During the loss of my mother and after my recent back-to-back knee surgeries, I found it is possible to fall deeper in love with my spouse even after many years of marriage. I thought the only people who said stuff like that were those nauseating love goofs. Now I can say from experience that those love goofs were right. I’ve seen my husband put himself in harms way to protect me, show how selfless he can be when caring for me time and time again without complaint, be a shoulder to cry on and give bear hugs not only when I need them but just because he loves to hold me tight. I love how his eyes smile when he looks at me, his ability to make me laugh on a daily basis and the way he has my best interest at heart- always.

After the twists and turns the past decade delivered, I can’t imagine where we’ll be or what we’ll experience in our next ten years, but I do know that as long as I have Bobby by my side, I’ll be wearing a smile.