marriage secret #1

First...after my embarrassing Walmart meltdown, I'm proud to announce that I have successfully fed our family of two for the 2nd week in a row! (insert obligatory Ron-Burgundy-I'm-kind-of-a-big-deal reference) Recipes to come.

Second...during our engagement, Strider and I got A LOT of advice and opinions from people. Family, friends, church people, Starbucks customers (where I work, btw), children, store attendants, and one random guy at Office Depot. As I'm sure other newlyweds can attest, it seems like everyone has something to say about your personal decision to marry another human being. Lots of people were very happy for us and encouraging, but lots of other people felt a strange need to question our decision-making skills. And a whole other heap of people found it humorous to tease us about our impending loss of freedom and to project their own misery onto us...but always just as a joke, right? Sure.

We talked about this strange phenomenon and decided that really all we can do is vow to do is take a different approach when we encounter young soon-to-be newlyweds. And for the most part, we ignored all the rubbish bits and just appreciated genuine encouragement. However, in the last two weeks, I've come to realize one truth that I sure wish just one person would have pointed out over the last eight or nine months. Ready for it?

...................................................................marriage is totally and surprisingly...........FUN!!

That's right...fun! I mean, we got a lot of advice about how wonderful it is to have a partner, that marriage is hard but worth it, that love can overcome annoyances, etc. etc. But not once did anyone say that it can be just flat out fun!

Let me clarify...Tuesday, I worked the opening shift at 4 am then dropped off a caramel latte to Strider at work before heading home to grab a Fig Newton for lunch, change clothes, and head back out to my other job for the afternoon. By the time I got home at after 5 and started dinner, I was wiped. So there I am, standing in our tiny kitchen pulling some lemon-thyme tilapia out of the oven when Strider comes home. We ate and caught up, then excitedly merged and re-alphabetized our DVD collections into our new case (a major thrill for us!), then had milkshakes and popcorn in bed while watching A Bug's Life...because according to Strider, "We married...who's going to stop us?" Before bed, I looked at him and commented that I can't believe it was just a boring old Tuesday night. I mean, when did marriage start making Tuesdays cool?!

I fully recognize that marriage will not always be fun, life sure isn't, and I do know that when things get busy, milkshakes and Disney will be a rare treat. The point isn't that things will always look like this, it's that I wish some person out there should have clued us in on the secret that even the boring Tuesday nights have the potential to be awesome when you're married to your best friend. Well, as awesome as a Tuesday can be, anyways.

Spill the beans...what are your favorite ways to make married weeknights a blast?