As I sit here taking care of my sick fiance I can’t help but feel thankful and blessed. I realize that sentence probably sounds like an oxymoron so to speak, but sometimes it’s the tough times in life that really make you appreciate everything you have. The last two weeks have been a bit of an emotional whirlwind as we lost a special family member to cancer just a few days ago. I have never dealt well with any sort of loss or death. It causes me an overwhelming amount of anxiety, so much that at times it affects my sleep habits and health. My fiance has always been incredibly supportive, loving, caring, and understanding through all of my craziness and anxiety. Of course just days after my family’s loss the stomach bug started to run rampage among several of us, including our little household. Yet another thing that causes me anxiety…the stomach bug!
Today I was reminded it’s the tough times that really test your relationship and love for each other. We have shared so many fantastic times together, but it’s also us sticking together through the death of a loved one, a major surgery of a parent, or a nasty sickness that proves our love and dedication. We’re less than eight months away from getting married and I realize the vows, “Through sickness and in health” are vows we have already taken. Marriage is more than a piece of paper “binding” two people together. It’s more than the party or a dress or gifts. It’s about how well your relationship can sustain the trials and tribulations of what life throws at you. It’s about being a rock for each other no matter what. And it’s about the vows that you undoubtedly take and follow without question.
My cousin who just lost her husband is a remarkable example of what those vows truly mean. She stood by her husband every step of the way during his battle with cancer and was there with him until the very end maintaining a positive and upbeat attitude. She is by far one of the strongest most incredible people I know and I will forever view her as role model. My heart is broken for all she has endured and for her devastating loss, but she has proven to be an extraordinary person who can survive anything.
So as the first day of February nears its end, I am ready to continue moving through 2012 through sickness and in health, through good times and bad, and through laughter and tears. I know that whatever comes our way my fiance and I will stick together and embrace it.
As always, wishing all of my blog readers a happy & healthy February!
Xoxo
SLK