Marriage changes you.

  I have been happily married for six plus years, but it has changed me. It has made me a stronger person! Marriage is something that you have to work hard for and work together. It is not always butterflies and roses, and, is often bittersweet, especially when you have children. I love my husband, he is my total support system.

                                                            (Our Family)
                              
   I will have to admit, it is always nice to make a good impression when you first meet someone new. And, then, meeting their family for the first time, a total nail biting experience for both parties. We, as people, always want to be excepted by others and fit into the mix. And I believe this goes for most everyone.

  I always was "The people pleaser", "The sucker", "The push-over", the type of girl who just smiled, when I really would have liked to say what was really on my mind. I was the rug under many others feet.

 Something in me has changed in these six years of marriage, NOT WHO I AM, but HOW I AM. I am no longer any of the above.

 What I did not do then, and what I will do now; *1.) I will speak my mind. *2.) I will be BOLDER. *3.) I will be wiser.
 
  I wish there were do overs, I have to say, I would not change many things, for they are life experiences, and stepping stones of life, but I would change a few.

**Example#1: About 6 years ago my husband had no idea that his cat, Poe, was under the van and well, you know what happened next. My husband cried for days and was so hurt. So we decided to adopt another cat and hoped that this one would stay inside. Poe, had already experienced the outdoors when we received him, and if anyone who has cats, knows how hard it is to convert them to just indoor cats. So my Brother-In-Law, heard it through the grapevine, that we had a new cat. He kindly told us, "So I heard you got another cat, are you going to run that one over too." He's one of those type of people who really shows his ass often and is so full of class. We kept quite and that defiantly would not happen now for sure.

                         (Poe with Christian)    
                                   
**Example#2: Almost 5 years ago, I gave birth to our twins, and my, Sister-In-Law, had not the nicest of words for me the following day at the hospital (She must have foot in mouth syndrome). But, the sucker that I am just smiled. Then, I fixed her whole family a spaghetti dinner, two days after leaving the hospital, with one baby still in ICU. Yep, that was really, really stupid of me, and there are NO DO OVERS! And once again, "Stupid is, as stupid does.". Lesson learned.

                               (Jeff and Logan, in ICU, at Winchester, VA)



**Example #3: I would proudly ask two of my, now, dearest of friends, to take the place of "others" as my bridesmaids on my wedding day. I'm quite sure lots of people would say the same about theirs. And of course, Leah, you would always be my Maid of Honor.

**Example#4: One of our neighbors made a comment that my husband was putting a hurting on our riding lawn mower. Now, I would so tell him where he could place our mower. Like he has so much room to talk, a man should not look seven months pregnant.

  I to have made my fare share of mistake(s), and I have stood my ground and apologized for my mistake(s),(most of them being at a fence line, perhaps, that is where the saying, "Mending Fences" came from). I should have listened to my heart, and not what "others" told me. I now make my own opinions (not judgments) of others, and I will not let others guide me into theirs.

  For better or worse, marriage changes you.

Dana Hunt- Me