Marriage

Most people know that Utah, especially Provo, is a hub for marriage. Oftentimes I believe that the pressure is a bit much, not that I feel pressured, but that I know a lot of people do, and their perception of marriage gets warped. Sometimes it bothers me that as Latter-day Saints we are less cautious of getting married for eternity than others who are only getting married for life. That seems a bit backwards. Also, I know that a lot of people rush into marriage because a) they've been dating for a long time and feel that they're already committed to marrying that person if they've spent that amount of time with them, or b) because they've been dating for a while and have reached a plateau and marriage is just the next step. (I refuse to admit that many people are driven to the altar because of raging hormones, it's just unfortunate)

But like I said, I don't really feel the pressure. I know myself, and I've seen too many bad examples of marriage to rush into anything. Plus as I'm aging I'm learning to differentiate the qualities that I want in a husband from the qualities that wouldn't bother me if I was only dating that person. I don't think about marriage all that often because I'm not even dating anyone, but sometimes someone will say something, and it will really strike me how wonderful it will be to be madly in love and married to my best friend, forever. 

My sister Jaime is a wonderful example of someone who just adores her husband. From what she lets on in her blog, she has the type of marriage that I want. I wouldn't want anything different from what she and her husband Brian have built. They are a wonderful example to me of good, faithful people, living Christ-like lives, and building together a loving eternal marriage. I hope that they will rub off on me - through their blog, since I've only met them once -that by the time I am ready to be married I can emulate them as much as possible.  

Here is a perfect example from Jaime's blog of how much she adores Brian. It struck me and absolutely melted my heart: 

happily ever after. today is my honey's 33rd birthday! happy birthday babe! let me tell you a bit about this man so you can be insanely jealous. he's the best. the. best. this last year has been our best year together yet. better than when we were dating. better than the newlywed stage. the best. he just keeps getting better. first of all he's a hunk. just look at that face. he's so handsome. i'm happy that my kids look like him because he's a total babe. he's smart. not only smart but quick. he can come up with the funniest things so quickly. his mind is amazing. every night we have a 7:30pm date where we watch Jeopardy together. he continually outsmarts me. he's funny. and charming. and loyal. and generous. so, so generous. he cooks a mean steak. works hard. even with recovering limbs [he was in a terrible motorcycle accident and underwent several surgeries and pretty much broke all his limbs] he's still out there bustin it for our family. he's an amazing dad. our kids adore him. gavin wants to do everything that his dad does and katie wants to be everywhere her dad is. emily is full of smiles for her daddy. and most importantly he loves our Heavenly Father and is always trying to make improvements. he's perfect for me. he is my happily ever after. i'm so glad that we found each other. i can't wait to grow old on our porch swing together. when we get a porch swing.

happy birthday baby.

i love you.

And I love you Jaime and Brian. Thank you for being such wonderful examples to me.