We’ve made it to 5 years, come celebrate with us.

Late May of 2016 we connected via “social media” after Jackie reached out to Cherille with a message saying “I hope you’re staying dry.” It was raining pretty bad in Houston that day and that conversation led to countless nights of all night conversations. Conversations in which Cherille talked until Jackie fell asleep and they did it over and over again. Those couple conversations started off discussing the idea of running a business until eventually Cherille told Jackie she would like the conversations to elevate past just business and getting to know each other more. The first date was for Cherille’s birthday. Jackie offered to take her out for her birthday to anywhere she wanted to go. Can you guess what she chose? If you guessed crawfish you’re right. Although Jackie arrived late for the scheduled date, the then friends hit it off and grew even more fond of each other. Come July 13, 2016 Jackie made a plan to make it official. She arranged for her best friend and one of cherille’s previous friends to pick cherille up from work. When she got home for work she was surprised to see Jackie had snuck in her apartment, cleaned the entire place, had a glass of her favorite wine and her favorite snacks in a gift bag. On the gift bag there was a question attached to the tag “Will you be my girlfriend?” From there the couples relationship developed. Nearly a year later, Cherille proposed to Jackie in the beginning of May. Two months later after the engagement and a year and day after making it official, the couple became one.

In 5 years of marriage we have learned so much. First and foremost, we learned that marriage is more complex than those who haven’t walked the path may realize. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health; it sounds so easy and concrete. In these 5 years of marriage we’ve come to learn that it is the easiest and hardest thing we’ve done in our lives. Two people coming together to commit to each other are committing to love each version of each other. The person that they are today along with the person they may grow to be. To understand that it’s not always 50/50 and sometimes you have to evolve, conform, adjust and be what your spouse need you to be, vice versa. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage but you also have to set boundaries. Marriage is between 2 people and those are the only two people to make decisions on/in that marriage. Your spouse won’t always be at their best but you should always love them at the best of your abilities. Love is more than a feeling but also an action. It can be an act of mercy, compassion, sternness, honesty and affection. You learn that there is a period of unlearning that happens. Unlearning the ways and habits that we may have become set in that overtime can negatively impact each other. The most important thing we’ve gained is better communication and the ability to listen to understand and not just to respond. We look forward to the next 5 years and the 5 years after that. No matter the ups or down, we always remain consistent in our commitment to not only each other but to ourselves. Just remember, you cannot love someone else to the best of your abilities until you love yourself that way.