An Anniversary List: Fun & Failures from My First Year as a Wife

June 11th is my first wedding anniversary. Keep reading for a list of notes and truths I’ve compiled from my first year as a wife. Then scroll down for a recent favorite list-book of 100 Ways to Love Your Husband (and the companion, 100 Ways to Love Your Wife).

51 Truths from my First Year as a Wife

1. The wedding day doesn’t have to be stressful if I don’t let it.
2. Getting lost on the way to our honeymoon destination is a great way to start marriage with laughter.
3. The first week back in the apartment I discovered it’s possible to clean that place in two hours flat.
4. The first time he came home from work I discovered it’s possible to mess that place up in two minutes flat.
5. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because his socks and shoes scattered hither and yon mean he’s home.
6. He really doesn’t mind when I burn the biscuits…again.
7. I learned the electric oven at long last!
8. Taking selfies together once you’re married and on date nights is harder to remember for some strange reason than when we were just dating.
9. But I still want to make time for selfies together.
10. Some of the best date nights include dinner in, cooked together.
11. Surviving inventory week and sleep deprivation was probably the truest test of our marriage to date.
12. If not that, then it was definitely that Thursday he had to pick me up from work because I was debilitatingly sick with kidney stones.
13. And if not that, then it was definitely the two oral surgeries he nursed me through.
14. Achieving Perfect Housewife Status is not on my five-year plan, but I still enjoy homemaking.
15. For instance, I reorganize the kitchen cabinets so much that he isn’t really surprised anymore.
16. And he just laughs when he catches me at the kitchen counter, cutting the burnt tops off the biscuits…again.
17. Tears can heal.
18. So can ridiculously long talks at 2am.
19. Friendships really do shift after marriage, and that’s okay.
20. So does everything else. Like, everything. Especially every single habit ever.
21. Like what I eat for breakfast: I used to be a cereal-every-morning girl, but my husband is lactose intolerant, and I can’t drink the entire quart before it spoils so that’s a rare luxury I indulge in only when I know I’m going to make pudding, pancakes, mac’n’ cheese, and smoothies all in one week.
22. Or what I eat for dessert: Ice cream is my love language, but if there’s ice cream in the freezer and I’m the only one who can eat it I bet I’d be as big as a house.
23. Did you know 98% of Americans keep ice cream in their freezer?
24. That puts us in the top 2%, right?
25. I’m 100% in love with him.
26. Amazingly, he’s 100% in love with me.
27. Buzzcuts in the bathroom can be something to laugh about.
28. We still haven’t ordered in for dinner. Not once. Not sure how I feel about this (proud? curious?).
29. To-do lists shared across Google Keep help keep us both organized.
30. There’s nothing quite like seeing him pull up in that pick-up truck the day I put my car in a tree and seeing the look on his face, the look that said he didn’t care about the car at all.
31. When I forget to run laundry and he’s completely out of socks to wear to work but doesn’t say a word because I’m stressed and I only find out later when I open his drawer, there are no words for that kind of grace.
32. Going to small group with him is the best.
33. Going anywhere without him is the hardest.
34. Netflix is a poor companion on nights when he works late.
35. I’m a clumsy kind of wife sometimes.
36. He reads my blog.
37. In fact, I found out recently just how much he read my blog before he ever asked me out. It was a lot. Like, even the guest posts I’ve written a lot.
38. Though our bench is gone, our story remains.
39. That man is a Pinterest ninja and proud of it. The organization of his boards is second to none.
40. A marriage between two introverts can absolutely, totally work.
41. When he pops into visit me at work, my day is made. Never underestimate the power of surprise appearances.
42. The wall in our closet wallpapered with notes I’ve written to him in his lunch box? Priceless.
43. The cleaning schedule can wait.
44. His support of my—our—dreams can not be rivaled.
45. I still fit in my wedding dress.
46. Our song still fits us.
47. The She Reads Truth app is perfect for harried mornings when we both need to be at work and I just need the Word.
48. It takes us 75 minutes to get ready together in the morning, especially since we share one bathroom mirror.
49. He makes a mean omelette.
50. I make a mean blueberry cobbler. The secret: yellow cake mix.
51. We make a great team.

About 100 Ways to Love Your Husband and 100 Ways to Love Your Wife

As a newlywed, I love reading books about marriage. This book is unique, however, in that it feels less like I’m reading a book and more like I’m sitting across from Lisa soaking in her wisdom. Also, I love lists and that this book is one long list of 100 is perfect. Lisa shares honest, tried-and-true ways to better love your man. I’ll be returning to this read again.

I’m a woman and a wife, but I read 100 Ways to Love Your Wife right after reading 100 Ways to Love Your Husband. I love that this book is one long list of ways to enrich your marriage! Matthew shares honest, tried-and-true ways to better love your woman. Even wives can glean something from it.

Whether you’re a newlywed, veteran spouse, or not yet married, I hope you’ll leave a comment below with some truths you know about marriage!