Can someone pinch me?
It’s been 5 years since we said “I do”. I’ve grown up so much since we met at 22, him at 28. I’ve learned so much and respect him even more as I get older.
We bought two homes, I went back to school full time while working full and part time jobs, added Nikki to the pack, traveled to places we’d never imagined going, and a whole new career for me.
We sure do have our ups and downs. We’re stronger today than we were five years ago and continue to learn so much more about each other as we grow.
5 things we learned:
1. We learned to leave work at work. We both work tirelessly all day long and it’s so important to come home and be there for each other whether it’s working out in the garage, discussing plans for the future, playing with the dogs, going over life things such as bills and what nots.
2. We learned to communicate our feelings. I’m the type of person that really wishes he would understand what I’m going through without having to tell him how I’m feeling. He’s the type of person that would rather not talk about his bad day and go straight to his phone or watch TV. Now, we’re open to our feelings rather than assuming and communicate them before blowing up.
3. We’re more supportive of each other’s hobbies. I see how happy it makes him when he hangs with his friends or works out alone. I respect that more and more and encourage him to do more of that. When he does that, I have time for myself! Let it be a night to hang with friends, a solo workout in the garage, a nice bath soak, watch my own TV shows he won’t watch with me and even a weekend away. It’s a bonus when the dogs cuddle with me more when he’s not around. 😉
4. We learned to be 100% honest about everything. Don’t let it sit and build to become a problem. Period.
5. Patience. I talk about my struggles often. I know he has his struggles with a deaf wife. It takes a ton of patience to wait for your wife to put her hearing aids back on, repeat multiple times to make sure she understood a word in New England language. It takes a lot of patience to do the necessary phone calls for your wife because they don’t communicate via email or chat, etc. It takes a ton of patience to put yourself in her shoes so you can somewhat get an idea of what it’s like to struggle with hearing loss. It takes even more to agree to disagree about how red meat should be cooked. 🙂
Photo Credit: Brandon Malone Photography
That Deaf RDH Foundation 
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