1,826 Days: What Do I Know Now

61606557_10216955847595784_3800830535501086720_n

I read somewhere, the only difference between a first marriage and a second is this: the second time, you know it’s a gamble.  You know that you just don’t know.

In my years of being single again, I spent a lot of time wondering.
What if I ever get married again?
What would be different?
What might be the same?

I penned this list:

If I marry again, there are some things I will do just the same because they were so beautiful, fitting, and fun the first time around; and there are ways I will enter marriage that are different from the ways I entered at age 19.

If I marry again, I will be honest.  I will enjoy being in the room with him.  I will enjoy missing him.  We will dream together, set our goals together, and support one another.  We will choose things to have in common, like TV shows and hobbies and favorite meals.  We will not be married singles.  Except that in some ways, we will be married singles.Toothbrushes in glass on light grey background

I will try new things.  I will look pretty.  I will trust him.

I will not question his devotion to me if he watches a baseball game on TV instead of talking intently to me without breaking eye contact.  I will remember that it is not his job to be my everything.  In other cultures, the men spend their days doing the things men do, completing the tasks men are called to complete, in a world that is entirely separate from the universe of women.  And it’s okay.  It works for them.  It can work for us too.

I will date him forever.

We will talk.  I read about a couple who promised two things to one another each day: tell me something you remember, and tell me something new from today.  I think that’s brilliant.  It weaves the old with the new.  It gives room for us to have plenty to say or just two sentences each.  It is valid and important, relevant and true.

I will ask him for what I want.  I won’t make him guess.  I won’t expect surprises.

I will be patient when we fight.  I will not believe that every fight is the beginning of the end.

I will let him not like my food.  It is not an extension of who I am.  It is a pile of ingredients mixed together, to like or not to like.

If I marry again, I will kiss more. I will let his skin touch mine.  I will let him choose my pajamas.  I will delight in sharing space.

Two heart shaped cherry berries isolated on white background cutI will let him play with my hair, even if he gives me a large, frizzy do’ when I have places to be and cannot hide in the privacy of my own home.  I will let him.

I will keep our secrets.

I will encourage him every day.

I will write to him.  Because there should be some perks to being married to a writer; some of these words should belong to him.

I will be in charge of myself, and I will give him that same respect.

And I will do my best to love him by helping him, making his life better than it would be without me.

If it ever happens again.

~ ~ ~

 

And then it happened again. Five years ago today.

Five years in, I know firsthand the difference between a first marriage and second.

The second time, I’ve realized what I have from the very beginning.
I know how fast it goes.
I know how much is on the line.
I know how fragile and strong this thing can be, somehow all at once.

I know what I longed for in the after, and I am so focused not to miss it in the today.

The second time, I know.

Today marks five years of morning coffee, bedtime ice cream, baseball games, walking dogs, folding laundry, listening carefully, singing in the car, dancing in the kitchen, and raising boys into men.

We are going to one-day-at-a-time it for another 365.

Anniversary is a lovely word.

Tricia Lott Williford

Comments are closed

  1. I love this for a million reasons. I feel all these things in the depth of my being for my new love. When my husband died eight years ago, I wrapped the title “Widow” tightly around me and wore it like a weighted blanket, believing I would always be a dead man’s wife. One day, a younger, freshly broken widower pushed his way into my heart and for two years now, we have been healing each other. God is Good. Life is worth living. Happy Anniversary. Sending you all my love on the wings of a desert sparrow. ????????????

  2. Happy blessed anniversary! So very excited for you to have found love again!

    (Ordered your newest book ~ can’t wait)
    ????

  3. Happy anniversary to all four of you!

    Love,
    Jessica

  4. Happy Anniversary!???? This is a beautiful post! Wishing you many more crazy fun, happy, healthy and content years together! ????❤️

  5. My heart is breaking since in our 51 years together we have recently had 7 months of my dear husband with his stroke and short term memory loss. Everything has changed, yet I cling to what I can save as the same. Enjoy each moment. Yes, it all goes way too fast.
    You’re just getting broke in..there is joy in that, sweet girl.

  6. Happy Anniversary! I love your words and I love your story! Here’s to happily Ever After!????????❤️????????

You Are Safe Now

Available April 9, 2024

This Book Is for You

Now Available
A book about falling in love with the Bible

Just. You. Wait.

Now Available
#1 New Title on Amazon in Christian Inspiration

You Can Do This

Now Available
#1 New Title on Amazon in Women's Issues!

Let's Pretend We're Normal

Now Available
#1 Bestseller on Amazon in Single Parenting

And Life Comes Back

Now Available
#1 in Denver Post: Nonfiction Paperback and Finalist for 2015 Christian Book Award
© 2015-2024 Tricia Lott Williford. All Rights Reserved. Site by Concept To Web.