When I met Jonnie it immediately felt like home. It was still scary sometimes. We were young and had some different ideas on life and came from different backgrounds. I never stopped feeling like we belonged together though. I knew very quickly that I would marry him and he would be a great partner. But I think we choose love more than once- in fact I think we show up and choose love almost every day. Some days more than others.

Love may indeed be a feeling but actually loving somebody is an action. If you don’t show it, then you don’t feel it enough.

I think that over time you can get where you just live with someone if you don’t put some time and effort in to loving and nurturing that love.

When someone is angry and hurt and just rotten. You choose whether to love them through that or decide it’s too hard.

When someone isn’t being exactly what you think they should be- for you- in the sense of support, and help in difficult times, then it’s a choice to still love them.

Families with additional needs within, have an extra stress and burden, likewise for those with health conditions. You can forget that there’s a marriage to keep nurturing. I’m not just talking about making sure you’re having sex and keep going on dates. It’s not just about that, but it’s about remembering at the end of the day to say I love you. In the morning kissing goodbye. It’s about thinking consciously about how to ease the other persons burdens. Filling the car with petrol, getting them some cereal so they eat, hanging out washing, washing the bottles, a text during the day.

It’s discovering what the other persons love language is. I certainly don’t know it all, but I do know the things that make Jonnie happy. A clean kitchen, organising outings for him to do the things he loves that I don’t, going out for a meal just the two of us.

He doesn’t really know my love language all these years on. I keep telling him, he’s learning VERY slowly. And in the mean time I choose to love him regardless 😂

When we’ve been in hospital especially when the babies were born, he did everything and I mean everything to make me comfortable. He held babies, went and bought hygiene products I needed, helped me dress, fed the babies.

That continued when home and he chooses to love me by doting on his children whenever he can. Story time, nappy changes, Physio, meds, and finds the time to play.

It’s easy to be selfish. It’s easy to say I love you and do nothing about it. It’s easy to disregard the others needs. But we choose to choose love.

Every day choose love.

Happy 14th wedding anniversary Jonnie. Apparently you deserve our Gold medal way more than I do haha!! 😉

Apes xx