Elevensies

For today I'm not talking about my favorite hobbity snack time, for once I will not focus on my stomach, instead I will focus on the amazing man I'm married to. Today marks 11 years since Caleb and I crossed that Georgia line and barely made it to the courthouse in time to be married by a judge while everyone back home in South Carolina sat around having no idea what was going on. Eleven years. Let's put that into perspective shall we? Eleven years ago George W. Bush was in his second term, gas was at $3.18 per gallon, and You Tube went online for the first time. We were first introduced to the characters of Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother, and (for you young tikes out there) The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. People were grabbing Twilight and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo off the shelves at Barnes and Noble and over in the kid's section Fancy Nancy was making her "debut" (that's a fancy word for first appearance). Our car stereos were blasting with awesome songs like 1,2 Step by Ciara, Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, Scars by Papa Roach, and (my personal fav) Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stephani. Eleven years... This *ish* is bananas (B-A-N-A-N-A-S)!
Looking back I would not be surprised if people were taking bets on how long our relationship would last, I can't blame them, we were 18 and 19 and new absolutely NOTHING about life. ( Seriously, nothing. I had used the washing machine a grand total of zero times before I got married) At this point, though, I'm pretty sure we've surpassed all the dates of the bets made, which to be quite honest is a huge feat. Caleb did not know what he was getting himself into when he took the hand of an introverted, yet extremely strong willed control freak, and I didn't know what I was getting into when I took the hand of an extroverted, free spirited dreamer. We essentially had to grow up together, and let me tell you there have been some major growing pains! (I mean what do you expect from people that have the exact opposite personality types? For you MBTI people I'm an ISFJ (Defender) and he's an ENFP (Campaigner)) Those growing pains were not for naught though because here we stand after 2 kids, 3 deployments, 4 states, 6 houses, 8 cars, 36 tattoos, at least 2 years apart on separate continents, and actually living together after so much separation. Our 11 years are certainly something to celebrate!
For all the people wondering how in the world we do it..... whenever I think about that question in my head all I hear is Rihanna singing "werk, werk, werk, werk, werk nananananana" (No, I don't know all the words, who does?). Seriously though, tons of work, with solid helpings of sacrifice, respect, tolerance (that's a real honest one you don't hear often), alone time together, laughter, and chocolate (That's actually just a hint to my husband to bring some home with him this evening, sorry, I know I said I wouldn't focus on my stomach, but this girl loves some chocolate).
Now to the mush.... Caleb is my rock and my best friend. He makes me laugh every single day, and he has grown into an amazing man and an incredible father. He reminds me to live a little instead of being so stuffy all the time, he pushes me to not worry about perfection but to give whatever I do my absolute best, and after 11 years I still covet every moment I can get with him. He's the Gilbert Blythe to my Anne Shirley, the Marius Pontmercy to my Cosette, the Mr. Rochester to my Jane Eyre, the Mr. Darcy to my Elizabeth Bennet, and the Schmidt to my Cece. He's my heart.