symbol in my driveway

But I leave my coffee mugs and water glasses all over the house like a teenager.

Sometimes he spits his toothpaste on the bathroom mirror.

I also leave cupboards open.

He's really bad at folding laundry.

I leave my books and notebooks strewn about.

But after thirteen years of marriage, we understand that these things are not worth nagging the other person about. We don't need to mention them or cause a fuss. So, I clean up his toothpaste and he picks up all of my glasses and puts them in the dishwasher.

And we thank each other for the things we DO appreciate.

Like my husband locking the doors and turning off all the lights every night before bed.

Or taking out the garbage.

And he thanks me (in front of the kids, thank you) for cooking dinner or signing them up for their activities.

To be a good teammate doesn't mean perfection. It means accepting one another's flaws for what they are—humans being human.

Humans doing their best to love one another.

Humans making mistakes--daily.

Humans messing up and then cleaning up.

What I've learned in marriage is that an imperfect marriage can also be a pretty extraordinary one.