An Appreciation Post
“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” –Dr. Seuss
My wife Miriam and I have been together for quite a long time, married for 3 years in October and dating for 5 years before that. At this point we’ve been a couple for almost a third of my whole life which is wild to think about. In our times together we’ve had to do long distance, overcome the challenges of an Austria relationship and then being long distance during our engagement for much of it. I like to joke around about how “She hasn’t smothered me with a pillow in my sleep so I guess things are going alright” whenever someone asks me about married life. The truth of it is I am so beyond lucky to have someone like her in my life. I wanted to take this week’s musing to write an appreciation post about her and all that she does for me and our marriage.
First of all she is incredibly supportive in all that I do, even if what I’m doing might seem dumb to other people. She takes the time to tell me how proud she is of me and to encourage my hobbies and endeavors. This podcast and venture with Josh is a great example, as many of my family members like to give me a hard time about it. However, Miriam always tempers her jokes with a word of encouragement. It makes me so happy when she talks about how she sees the spark of enjoyment I get from working on the pod or my musings. When I started my gym journey, she was my biggest cheerleader, always encouraging me to go, sending me a “Nice Job!” after I show her the numbers on my workout, and telling me that she can see my results on my figure (even if I can’t sometimes). Even when I started substitute teaching and pursing my goals in ministry, she was the one who would push me to be the best version of myself in both of those areas and would comfort me when I was feeling doubts about my abilities. When I lost my job in the past and felt so much despair, my wife knew when to comfort me and when to give me space, like she could read my mind.
Secondly, she sacrifices so much for me, in big and small ways. During our time getting ready to move, I was working almost full time so there wasn’t nearly as much time for me to help with the packing process as I would have liked. Miriam stepped up and sacrificed much of her much deserved summer vacation to spearhead the packing procedures. Another great example is when cleaning needs to be done. Let’s face it, almost no one actually enjoys cleaning, but I loathe it more than most. There are specific tasks that I don’t mind doing, but Miriam is really good about taking one for the team when it comes to all the little things that I despise doing. Whenever I get sick (and I’m a guy so when I get a cough it’s time to call the priest) she does such a good job of taking care of me. It doesn’t matter how pathetic I look when I’m dying on the couch or in bed, she still tells me how much she loves me and is happy to help me out.
Lastly (though this is by no means an exhaustive list but I don’t have time to pump out the several novels it would take to adequately talk about her) I love Miriam’s talking with her about our interests. Whether it’s her love of books or Taylor Swift and everything in between, she manages to draw people into her obsessions. She managed to make me into a moderate Swiftie and even started a little book club with her friends. When she talks about what she loves, she lights up the whole room with her smile. Miriam and I have very different enjoyments, but she draws me into whatever books she’s reading to make me feel a part of her discussions, and she listens to my little nerd rants with attentiveness that makes me feel so good about myself!
To sum it up, I have been blessed by having Miriam in my life. Through all the ups and downs in these last 8 years she has been by my side helping me through it all. She wants me to be the best version of myself and run towards Heaven with her. Despite my best attempts to screw it all up, she loves me and makes me feel appreciated every day. If you know Miriam, feel free to comment something you appreciate about her, and if you don’t then share something positive about your spouse or a close friend/family member! We all wish we could hear more positive things about ourselves so let’s do it!
God Bless,
Andrew (The Kurtlocker)
