On our 5th anniversary

Us. (My husband's the one on the left.)

Something my husband’s said to me over the last month or so:

“You’re prettier than the girl I married. I’m thinking of leaving her for you.”

Something I’ve said to my husband over the last month or so:

“You look like a homeless man who found a nice jumper.”

 

Obviously I’m still working on the whole ‘words of affirmation’ thing. It’d be nice to have a less devastating marker of time by which to assess our marriage, but if last year’s miscarriage was the wave that made it clear we were drowning (to continue with the metaphor from this post), this year’s has proved that not only are we afloat, we’re basically lounging on a brightly-coloured inflatable raft together drinking cocktails and soaking up the sunshine. Only 35 years to go...

So here’s a love song dedimication to you, my beloved husband, on our anniversary: On This Side by Clare Bowditch. This isn’t the official video (I can’t find that one); it does have Rory and Jess from Gilmore Girls in it but it’s slightly chopped up and has a lot of kissing (I don’t remember them being so young!). It’s really quite awful, to be perfectly honest; maybe you should just listen.

We are living in a treehouse
In the middle of the ‘burbs
We’ve got two kids now
He says he wants a third
Well, I would give this man
Most anything he asks
‘Cause I never did imagine
How green grows the grass

On this side
Things they work differently
Me oh my
We're all that we hoped we’d be
‘Cause this time
We dared to believe

Well, it wasn't always this way
I can tell you that for sure
Once the only colour I knew was grey
My heart was low, it was poor
Felt nobody could love me
The way that I loved them
That was before him

On this side
Things they work differently
Me oh my
We’re all that we hoped we’d be
‘Cause this time
We dared to believe

Why do we forget how to be loved?
Why do we bother doing it
when it’s only getting off?
I’m not talking making babies
Though that is also true
It’s whatever you call that thing
I’m in when I'm in with you
On this side

It’s a quiet night at home now
Little miracles in bed
And a birdy on my windowsill
That makes happy happen in my head
And it's funny all the little things
Boring to describe,
They taught my joy her roots
And brought my life alive

On this side
Things they work differently
Me oh my
We’re all that we hoped we’d be
‘Cause this time
We dared to believe
We dared to believe
We dared to believe