Dear Michael,
Happy 17 year anniversary
Not our wedding anniversary…
But the anniversary
of the largest fight
we ever had.
That happened to be the
day before we got married.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while
And I wanted to address IT.
The IT… being the fight
So many times I hear we have the perfect marriage
And it’s pretty darn close
But perfect to the outside world
Is not “our perfect”
Perfect
would be all sunshine
and rainbows
+FSU football winning the national championship every year.
Am I right?
But our perfect is just what I said
It’s Ours
Not John and Jane
But Michael and Kirsten
I’m thankful for that huge fight 17 years ago
It brought us base rules for our marriage
What we could
and couldn’t do
without the other one
(And before anyone thinks Mike or I cheated or did something horrible. We didn’t)
And I think if we wouldn’t have had that
Then we may not be
Where we are today.
Living in “our perfect” marriage
As my grandmother said
If someone tells you
their marriage is perfect
Then they are lying
Because no marriage is perfect.
But ours is “our perfect”
We have learned how to communicate
Even if you really don’t like communicating
We have learned to forgive
Even if it’s hard for me to forgive
(Not that you do a lot of bad stuff lol)
We have learned to be patient
We have learned to listen
We have learned to be present
Even if along the way it’s been hard
It’s all been worth it.
So this will be the FIRST
And the LAST time
You will ever hear me say this
Thank you for doing what you did
Those 17 years ago
Thank you
Because it’s helped us get this far.
And because of that
I see us together
Until the day we die.
The kids wanted me to add:
You provide for us.
For our family
You make us feel safe
(Even if you aren’t observant lol)
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love you Mr. Burton
Happy Anniversary…on the day that started it all.
P.S. To all those couples out there
that want perfect
it takes time
Time and energy
Both parties have to be willing to work
And Work is exaclty what it is
BUT It is doable
And to all my friends/family going through a tough time right now
I love you
And I’m here for you
I’m just a call away.
