15 years of ordinary.

It’s been 15 years since I walked down that aisle wearing that sparkly white dress, while the song “At Last” played in the background. Supreme irony as this 20 year old girl journeyed from the back of the church on her father’s arm, to the hands of her handsome and smiling 21 year old soon-to-be husband.

That was an extraordinary day.

Over these past 15 years there have been many more extraordinary days.

Wandering through night markets in Hong Kong, roaming around ancient temples in Cambodia, and celebrating a Christmas in Thailand.

Two weeks on white sandy beaches in Mexico where we actually stopped yawning because we were that well rested.

That exhausting, wild, and beautiful day we became Mom and Dad and no longer just husband and wife. And the three other memorable days where three more sons joined our family.

That time we ate lunch inside the Eiffel Tower, and that time we ran around London express sight-seeing because we had just a few hours to ‘see it all.’

And that time we took our whole family to Disneyland because we simply wanted to.

Extraordinary days that stand out because of the weight and memory that they hold.

The funny thing about extraordinary days though is that they are always sandwiched between so many ordinary days.

Ordinary days of, “Can you bring home some milk when you’re done work? Oh and maybe like some chicken, vegetables, fruit, and a loaf of bread? OK, actually could you just bring all of the food you can carry from the grocery store? The fridge is empty…”

Ordinary days of, “The check engine light keeps coming on and we also need an oil change and how about we take all four boys to sit inside the van peacefully with us…” Followed by a comedic glance at each other knowing peaceful is not in the cards.

Days of, “Can you take the garbage out? And are we seriously out of diapers again?”

Quite a few days of my husband holding me tight while I’m crying, and giving me a back rub when I can’t carry a crying 22 lb baby for a minute longer.

Days of, “I’m so exhausted, do you want to just sit beside me and stare out the window while our shoulders touch ever so slightly and we share this cup of coffee?”

Days of dinnertime that began with a shattered glass on the floor accidentally dropped by a toddler. The days where he gets the vacuum and I wipe the floor, and we work together to keep tiny feet out of the path of broken glass.

15 years of a few extraordinary days, and a lot of ordinary days.

Today started as just another ordinary day. A day of waking up and making breakfast in the dark for four hungry children.

“I wanted to make you a special breakfast…” I said to my husband as he poured his cereal into a plastic Minion bowl. He proceeded to eat it with a ginormous serving spoon, because the running dishwasher was currently working hard to clean the dishes of yesterday.

“That’s OK, thanks for making coffee.” He said.

Ordinary days. Sometimes even the ‘supposed to be special’ days are a little bit ordinary because they have to be. They aren’t always exciting, most times they’re simply mundane. But if you look closely and purposefully at them you’ll find some extraordinary within them too.

Like the “I love you. You can do it.” He says as he leaves for work and looks behind me at the two boys having a fistfight. Extraordinary.

Like the late night hysterical fits of laughter right before we fall asleep because we’re so tired and every night can sometimes feel like a slumber party with my best friend. Extraordinary.

Like when he bought me the $1 Star Wars theme song ringtone on my birthday so that every time a call comes in, I smile pretty wide as the children stop what they’re doing to sing along; every single time. Extraordinary.

Waking up on a regular Wednesday morning and realizing it’s my 15th wedding anniversary with my very best friend. The one who I’d pick all over again to live the ordinary days out beside me. Extraordinary.

“What’s so special about an anniversary mom?”

“It’s kind of like a birthday for your wedding day.”

“Oh, I get it.” he says as he skips away thinking fondly of presents, cakes and celebrations.

Our marriage turned 15 years old today. Extraordinary.

The best part of extraordinary things is that they’re often always there just waiting for me to open my eyes and see them.

“Dad brought you a big bouquet of flowers Mom!! And Sushi for lunch!”

Flowers. Prepared food. My husband coming home on his lunch break. Three of my favourite things right there, dare I even say, three extraordinary things on this beautifully ordinary day.

 

Photo Credit: James Moes