Five years of marriage. FIVE! At different times it sounds minuscule and in others, it sounds monumental. To this day I still can’t believe that Robin and I are together. From knowing of each other in high school, to moving to the same city and never speaking for four years, to becoming friends, partying, and then falling in love – it seems surreal. If you had told me I’d end up with the tall, jokester, squash athlete when I was younger I never would have believed you. But when the timing lined up perfectly, it made so much sense for us to be together. Robin is in every way my counterpart – he enhances all my qualities and makes up for everything I lack (and I like to think I do the same for him). He motivates me to be a better version of myself every day and yet, he’ll gladly accept the grumpy, hangry, indecisive sides of me too. I like to think that being with each other has brought out the best in us and we’ve continued to influenced the other for the better.

So five years. This is what has happened in five years:

Sold our condo and moved to another in the Distillery. Left behind my 9-5 job to pursue photography. Robin had my back throughout every up and down. Traveled to Jamaica, Mexico, Hawaii, and drove the West Coast from Vancouver to Big Sur. Repaired two CCL tears in our sweet pup Bella. Canadian National Doubles champ four years in a row. Argued, communicated and worked on understanding and bettering our relationship. A ton of impromptu dance parties. Became aunt and uncle to two amazing nieces (and another niece or nephew due in June). Countless drives to Ottawa and Brighton. Chemo treatments and saying goodbye to Bella. Head Squash Pro position. Two 3rd decade celebrations. Too many bottles of wine to count. A ton of growth. Held hands every night when we fall asleep (so cheesy, I know!) Welcomed Quinn to the family. Loved each other a lot!

Aside from all that, there’s a million in-between moments that add up to make our relationship what it is. The day-to-day mundane things that can sometimes be overlooked but they are still special in their own right. I will say that in five years we have gone through a lot. Not every day has been perfect, and it hasn’t been without it’s struggles. We started dating when we were 24 and both of us have grown and changed so much but throughout it all, we’ve done it together.  One of the biggest things that we have learned together is that our marriage needs to have it’s foundation checked often – its like moving into a house and never having the foundation inspected. It needs to be looked at and though it’s a big job, it’ll be beneficial in the long run to ensure what we build is solid. Our relationship might look different than what it was when we were 24, but it’s the best it’s ever been because we’ve put so much into it.

So here’s to five years. Five years married to a man who exceeds what I thought the man of my dreams was. Five years of being comfortable enough to be total silly, immature, goofballs. Five years of cheering each other on and lifting each other up. And five years of choosing each other every day to do life with.