Friday Five - why I love being married

I have a couple of series in mind for the next few Friday posts about life, marriage, family and children.  Well, I guess just one child.  So I thought I'd start where things started - marriage.

1.  Because I get to share everything with someone else.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  Jon and I were best friends before we were anything else so we were already sharing a lot with each other.  Especially since we were also roommates.  And work colleagues.  Marriage made our relationship stronger.  We are always there for one another no matter what happens and support each other (well, most of the time) in the decisions we make.  We get to share decisions too!  Which is nice when you want to share the responsibility.  I guess to me it's just nice to have someone by my side to share in the joy or a shoulder to cry on.

2.  Because we get to play house.  I know, I know.  We're adults.  With a home.  And pets.  And a child.  But most of the time it really still feels like we are playing house.  There are times when I'm overwhelmed with the chores, the bills, and all the other stuff that goes along with running a family and then I think about how much fun it is to play house.  And somehow, things get just a little bit easier.

3.  Because we get to share the financial responsibility.  There are many marriages and relationships where people choose to keep their financial stuff separate or some combination of split and shared assets.  But not us.  Jon and I moved in together just days after we finished school.  We both had nothing to our name and were sharing bills.  Then we started dating and things got serious, so we ended up adding each others' name to our credit cards because we were sharing too many things and it made it easier.  So by the time we were married it was easy for us to close one checking account and split another.  This isn't to say that we don't spend a good amount of time arguing about bills or purchases or savings, but at the end of the day it's our money and our home and our family and our shared financial responsibility.

4.  Because I can pick off someone's plate without getting my hand slapped.  Okay.  I know this is kind of a silly thing but if you know me and how much I love food, you'd understand.  Most of my friends and co-workers know that I have a wondering fork when it comes to meal time.  However, there have been a couple of times when I've been yelled at or had my hand slapped for sticking my fork into someone else's food.  That's the great thing about having someone else that you share financial and other things with.  They're used to you taking their stuff.  It works out great when you're ordering something and can't decide between two things or when you want the chocolate cake without any of the calories (you know, because it doesn't count if you're not the one who ordered it).

5.  Because it's my family.  I get my parents, grandparents, my sister, and a new husband.  But I also get his parents and his siblings.  And his aunts and uncles and cousins.  This might not be much to someone, but to me it is everything.  Growing up I had a very small family and when we moved from Russia to the U.S., it got even smaller.  When I married Jon, I also married his family.  And I love every one of them!  I love all his amazing and hilarious aunts and uncles, his extremely family-oriented and caring grandparents, and his adorable cousins.  And I love that Addison is growing up in such a large, loving family.

Your turn - got a Friday Five?  Link up!

And grab this code to add to the bottom of your post.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=3b831203-b217-4d65-a2ef-a152861b367b" ></script>