My husband and I will be celebrating ten years of marriage—a milestone that marks a decade of growth, resilience, and memories built together. When I think back on all we’ve been through, it’s amazing to see how our relationship has adapted and strengthened.
We’ve faced challenges that would test any marriage: a six-week NICU stay with our firstborn, the chaos and joy of raising Irish twins, late nights studying for law school and tackling the bar exam, the countless trials of hiring and firing nannies, both of our mothers living under our roof at the same time, moving from one home to another, job changes, the kids starting and changing schools, and so much more.
Each experience added a new chapter to our story, teaching us more about partnership, patience, and unconditional support. And yet, through all these changes, there has been one constant: the mailbox I bought nine years ago when we first moved into our first house together.
I remember that time vividly. I wanted to make that house our own, to put our personal touch on every corner, and the mailbox was one of those small but meaningful details I was determined to change. I had carefully picked it out, picturing it as the first of many choices that would shape our home and life. I remember carrying it into our garage, feeling a surge of excitement for all the possibilities that lay ahead.
Fast forward almost a decade, and that same mailbox has become something of a quirky legend in our lives. Somehow, we’ve managed to carry it from house to house, move after move. We’ve gone through three homes now, and I hold onto it each time, thinking, Maybe this will be the year he’ll install it. It sits in the garage in like-new condition, as though it’s suspended in time, untouched by the whirlwind of our lives around it.
Each year, I wait for my husband to finally put it up. I know it sounds silly, but that mailbox has become something symbolic. In some ways, it’s a little like a hope or a dream deferred, waiting for the perfect time to finally come to fruition.
Perhaps it’s a reminder that life sometimes throws curveballs and that you don’t always get to follow through on every small plan or make every change you intend. Or maybe it’s become a lighthearted testament to the joy in the imperfections, quirks, and small reminders of life’s unpredictability.
Will we ever put that mailbox up? Maybe, maybe not. But until then, it remains a charming reminder of the journey we’ve shared—of the small things that connect our past to our present, of the hopes we carry with us through each move and each new chapter. Perhaps one day, when that mailbox finally finds its place outside our forever home, it will stand as a simple yet meaningful reminder of all the dreams, laughter, and resilience that have built our life together.
