Lately, it has felt like Fall in central Arkansas. Everyone has unpacked their football team gear and welcomed tailgating season in all its glory.

As much as I love the crisp air that often comes with September, I will always have a pleasant fondness for another type of September… a September that was tough and hot, but amazing. You see, a week ago today, Adam and I celebrated being married for two years.

Same Spot. Same Couple. Two Years Apart.

It was not the cool, crisp outdoor wedding I had envisioned. It was sweltering. I remember watching Adam standing at the end of the aisle in his all black ensemble. He was handsome as hell but also sweating profusely. Everyone was. As the night wore on and the sun went down, Mother Nature provided some relief but we still swatted at mosquitoes and wiped our brows as we sipped cold wine and beer.

More than the weather has changed in these two years. We bought a house. We got big kid jobs. We got pregnant. We lost family members we loved. More than once. We’ve had ups and we’ve had downs. We’ve fought and we’ve made up. We’ve struggled and we’ve triumphed.  In short, it’s been two full years and we’ve come out all the better for it.

Since we had our anniversary off work this year (Thank you Labor Day!) Adam and I stuck to the tradition we created last year by revisiting the spot he proposed and opening the message bottle from our wedding. (At our wedding, we had bottles for Years 1-5 and then Years 10, 15, 20, and 25. People were encouraged to put messages in the bottles that we would open on each anniversary.) As we opened the Year 2 bottle and read messages predicting a little “Florken” or hoping for one, we both laughed and rejoiced in how far we’ve come in only two short years.

Here’s to a life of goofy looking, off-center selfies, with this handsome man…

I know that we aren’t in deep enough to really start handing out marriage advice. However, I will say that marriage can be easy (or at least easier) if you marry the right person. Adam is my person in each and every way. It has been an amazing two years and I cannot even describe how fortunate I feel for finding Adam, somehow convincing him I wasn’t the crazy person I am, and then being lucky enough they he chose to love me unconditionally for the rest of our lives. Here’s to another year of “Florken” fun!