In our first year of marriage, I have discovered a plethora of benefits from being married. Many are fairly run of the mill: Matt takes out the garbage, shares in laundry duties, and provides some bed warming in the evenings. More exciting has been learning about the myriad small, fringe benefits of my spouse.
This week I played my first game of backgammon. I lost by just one chip, though I think this is more due to Matt being a kind opponent than to any innate skill on my part. I found the game enjoyable, and I look forward to having that as part of our game regimen. We enjoy Scrabble, two player Blokus, and a few other titles, but we're still lacking in two-player offerings. This is a good addition, even if it does make me feel a bit old-school.
Another first from this week is Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was a Star Wars gal growing up. I remember seeing the inevitable glimpses of Star Trek here and there, but I never pursued the series. Matt grew up watching this with his family on the "family couch." On Netflix, he discovered we that we can watch the whole series. I only have three episodes under my belt so far, so I'm withholding judgement. I find the show fairly enjoyable but haven't converted.
Other miscellaneous changes include me skiing (cross-country is fun, but downhill is not my bag), lots more camping than I've ever done, and a good bit of hiking and outdoorsy fun. I might have done some of those without Matt, but his prodding has certainly pushed me farther than I would have gone alone.
We realized tonight that Matt has also changed from knowing me. When we met, his idea of cooking dinner was warming up a burrito or cooking ramen if he felt fancy. Now, he has dinner ready for me if he didn't work that day, and he also often starts dinner for us to finish together once I get home. He also reads far more than he ever did before.
Yes, having a spouse has suited me well so far. Our anniversary was December 30th. Here's to one great year and hopefully many more.
