"They" (whoever "they" are) are right.

They say the third time's the charm.

After two failed sojourns into marital bliss (it was more like marital blisters!), I went for a third spin. I was either crazy, or it was the best decision of my life. I believe a little of each, more of the latter.

Yesterday, Tim and I celebrated our first year of marriage. And what a year its been! Our first year brought the challenge of me transitioning into a new role in life, (you may think staying at home full time is a vacation, in actuality it was really tough for me to feel personally valued when I didn't have an income after supporting myself for so many years. In a society where your value is ascertained by the price tag on your head set by HR, not making any money at all can be a total brainfuck) and our first year also brought us our beloved son, Jackson. (The reason I stay home. When they asked me at admission into the hospital who my employer was, I pointed at the baby. I said "He pays in poop and spit up. LOTS of each. I dare not ask for a raise!")

We're only a year older, but exponentially wiser and emotionally richer. Yesterday, as I laid Jackson down for a nap, it hit me -- how blessed I am. I am not lucky, because luck alone could not give me all of this. Only God could give me a life so rich and beautiful. I set Jack down, and a tiny smile flashed across his face. Even he knows that life is good. 3 years ago, I lived in a different town in a doomed and unhappy marriage that I was overdue to break free from. I was so depressed. If only I knew what was just around the corner...

I never could have foreseen this. I never would have dared to dream of such a lovely, blessed life. I could not have married a better man. We could not have found a more wonderful life together. It was such a long and treacherous journey here, but I truly do feel in my heart of hearts that I have finally arrived at the destination I was seeking. Life is pretty good here, on the corner of Blessed and Content. (Blessed and Content actually both intersect with Peace and Happy on the map, you know.)

A month after Tim proposed to me last year, I heard this lovely song that perfectly expresses how I feel about our relationship. It's this:

The Last Time
Eric Benet

The first time I fell in love was long ago,
I didn't know how to give my love at all.
The next time I settled for what felt so close
But without romance, you're never gonna fall.
After everything I've learned;
Now it's finally my turn,
This is the last time I'll fall in love.

The first time we walked under that starry sky,
There was a moment where everything was clear.
I didn't need to ask or even wonder why,
Because each question is answered when you're near.
And I'm wise enough to know
When a miracle unfolds,
This is the last time I'll fall in love.

Now don't hold back, just let me know.
Could I be moving much too fast, or way too slow?
'Cause all of my life, I've waited for this day.
To find that once in a lifetime, this is it, I'll never be the same.

You'll never know what it's taken me to say these words,
And now that I've said them, they can never be enough.

As far as I can see, there's only you and only me.
This is the last time I'll fall...in love.

"They" are right. The third time is the charm. You guys who got it right the first time around -- you are so fortunate, I can't even tell you. You don't even know!