97 Months!

We are closing in on ONE HUNDRED MONTHS of marriage! I am so excited about it, and I loved Tracy's suggestion of throwing 100 water balloons into the celebration mix. (Ryan would probably really go for that, even though it won't land in the warmest Hoosier month.)

In our new line of work, it's not possible to have every single monthiversary off work, and that's okay. Tim and Justine find our monthiversary celebrations landing somewhere between cute and amusing, I'm sure, but I'm also sure they don't want us to request a weekend for every single one of them!

So for monthiversary #97, we were on duty at WillowBridge. The day was filled with all manner of regular chores, along with a few additional ones, like taking down all the community Christmas decorations. 

I worked inside to take ornaments off the tree, and as I dropped them in the tub beside me, I glanced outside to see Ryan beginning to take down the garland from the WillowBridge sign. (Much of the outdoor decor had been ours from our Kokomo house. Since we no longer have an outdoor space to decorate personally, we just shared with the building!) The day was cold and icy, but Ryan buzzed around, quickly taking down all the garlands, lights, extension cords and more. 

It's one of the many things I love about him: he powers through and works hard, no matter the weather or how long the days run.

Tim and Justine insisted that we take a little time for ourselves while they were there to help out with the building, so we took them up on their offer. Justine took our official monthiversary photos...isn't she kind? And better than a selfie?

(If you missed the memo earlier, the coordination game was strong, though entirely coincidental.)

These pictures are one of the many things I love about him. He puts up with my desire to fully document life. He doesn't just tolerate it. He embraces it. 

After pictures, we drove over to the coffee shop and stayed about an hour, drinking fresh brew, having the best carrot cake we've ever found on the planet, and playing our newly discovered favorite word game. 

It was just the heart and brain break we needed! And it's another thing I love about him! He makes time for dates, even when the work lists are long. He plays word games with me (swoon) and if we're honest about it, he was the one who found the word game and he let me crash it and start finding words with him. He shares so well. 

We headed back to WillowBridge and resumed working, which included a late-night visit to the community room to fix one of our tenants' glasses. Someone had stepped on the earpiece (or leg, as she called it) and nearly broken it. "Doctor Ryan," as they call him came to the rescue with his toolbox and unending patience. 

And yes, as you may have guessed, that is another thing I love about him. As Doctor Ryan worked on the glasses, the tenant said to me, "You really did get the best one. He can do everything." And I easily agreed. He takes care of all of us so very well, and I love him for it. 

Thank you, Ryan, for a beautiful 97 months together. How have they flown so fast? Thank you for making not only every single one of those months so great, but thank you for making this busy work day a special day of celebration too! I love you!