When It Was Just Us: Remembering My Marriage Before Kids

We used to have uninterrupted conversations or sit quietly just because we could. Talking any time day or night about almost any topic; mostly because we’re the kind of people who find the world endlessly fascinating.

Now we often settle for snatches of sentences, and half thoughts shrouded in misunderstanding between things needing to be wiped, changed and put away. We sacrifice the few minutes we do have on the altar of Netflix and the time suck that is the internet, mostly because we are too tired to figure out how to connect. The work never seems to end and evening finds me finishing laundry, sending emails and trying to prepare for whatever tomorrow brings.

We used to dream of a weekend away each year and a date at least once a month. But even that feels unattainable most of the time. But I know it doesn’t have to be that formal. It can be as simple as looking each other in the eye as we talk about our day. Choosing to lean towards each other even when our poor, tired introvert souls want nothing more than a quiet hour with no demands or expectations.

Even if we sit side by side, not speaking, but edging close and holding hands or touching legs; reminding the other that neither of us is alone, and we are still in this together.