BONUS BLOG: marriage

Carrie Cariello. I’m just gonna get out of her way here. Brace yourself —-

My husband Joe had an MRI this week. He asked me to go with him.

For half an hour I sat next to the machine. I held his hand. We couldn’t talk over the loud knocking noises.

Without words to fill the space, my mind became a slideshow.

The time he picked me up in the middle of a snowstorm.

Our first dance, all white dress and crisp tuxedo.

His silhouette, hanging Christmas lights like stars across the night.

An argument about Oreos.

Petty arguments, silly slights, misunderstandings.

Sitting on a small black stool while my husband lay in a machine that hummed and beeped, I wish I could take back every single one.

This is marriage.

It is small pockets of time—moments of hope, and love, and loss, all mixed up with old-fashioned grit.

Funny birthday cards, goofy texts, the silent treatment, stolen kisses, give-and-take, compromise, failed attempts, and new beginnings.

He holds up half my sky.

Results are normal.

We get another tomorrow.

May the music play.

May the stars shine.

—- Not everybody gets another tomorrow.

Not everybody got today.

Be grateful.

Together.