Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary.....

So, 6 months ago today Jim and I started officially dating. Whenever I tell anyone this they say, "Oh please, you were dating LONG before 6 months ago!" Which, I guess is true in a way, but for us, this is a monumental day. This is the day that set us on the path to being engaged and eventually, to be married.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Since Jim already described it in GREAT detail in an earlier post, I won't go into it all again. But, I did want to tell you all the things I have learned in the last 6 months.

1) That it is a great feeling to have someone 'have your back'. I know that Jim is there always to love me, support me and just be a listening ear when I need to vent.

2) That communication is always key. We had sort of learned this prior to these 6 months, but since then we have delved even more into what it means to be a couple. We have asked each other questions from a book designed to have couples get to know each other better before engagement. This book showed us areas in our relationship that we needed to work on and it also helped us communicate better with each other. It also showed us how to manage our disagreements. We have developed a pretty routine, predictable pattern whenever we get upset with one another.  We know that these disagreements will be resolved quickly and neither of us are the type to hold grudges or stay mad for long. We both think this will serve us well in our marriage.

3) That prayer and remaining close to God is key. Jim and I pray together nightly. Even if we only have 10 minutes to talk (which happens rarely), we make sure that prayer is what takes precedence over anything else. This allows us to grow spiritually, individually and with each other.

4) That Jim and I can accomplish more together than we can apart. Just looked at all the things I have changed in  helped Jim with so far. And we aren't even married yet! Imagine how much more "help" I can give him once we are married. ;)

5) That even though change can be scary, both of us have grown so much already with all the changing we have had to do. I know that any other changes we have to make will only be beneficial to us as a couple. For instance, I have almost rid Jim of his Xbox obsession. :)

6) That the Sacrament of Marriage will give us so many graces we need to live out our lives. We both know it will not be easy, but we know that it will be blessed by God and that is all that matters.

So there you have 6 reflections for 6 months :) If I was Jim this post would be three times as long, but I am not as longwinded eloquent as he is. We can't wait to learn even more lessons as we get closer to our wedding day!

p.s. We have also learned just how much weddings cost, but we will save that for the 1 year anniversary reflections.