WARNING: This blog post is going to be incredibly cheesy and mushy. Should that not be your cup of tea, click away now. If you choose to stay, grab some popcorn, and tissues.
He's the almond milk in my coffee. He's the Kerry Gold butter to my wheat toast. He's the frozen blueberries in my smoothie. I'd say the PB to my jelly, but I'm not really into that so we will just stick with the things I happen to like. I'm #basic.
He's the guy who reminds me to drink water, tells me to take a nap when I can't keep my eyes open, takes me on dates, geeks out with me on memes, cheers for me in my wins, cheers me up after my losses, let's me sleep his lap, and sneeze on his shoulder. His love language is "playlists" and I owe him a year's salary to compensate for all the foot rubs. He's my biggest fan and superhero to our babies; tirelessly showing up daily for us to give us his best. As of late, he's now co-owner and co-leader with me at Mariposa. What an honor, you guys.
So now that I've laid out all the amazing things, it would be a disservice if I didn't share some of the real stuff too. So here we go.
The last few months have been really challenging on us. In fact, it's been the most difficult months that our marriage has faced in our 6 years as hubby and wifey. We knew we'd make this move for a while, so we've tried to prepare. I'm a planner, so naturally I'm thinking, "If we practice what it will be like when we work together then, boom, with snap of the fingers we will be besties for the company's restie." But no. It didn't work like that. It's been a trying season for our marriage and for our family as we are navigating what it means to be a husband and wife team.
You see, my hubby and I have different ways of processing information and viewing the world. I'm emotional. A recovering control freak. And I thrive on predictability. A real down to business kind of gal. If we have a job to do, let's do it. What's the mission? What's the goal? LOL as I type this I'm laughing at how seriously I take myself. Somebody please tell me, "This is not that serious." Oh wait, my husband already does. 😂
He's logical + rational. He goes with the flow and still manages to get it all done. He also does it all while whistling zippity do da. His brain is analytical, seeing the holes before they get bigger. Long story short...
I see the big vision; he sees the steps to get there.
I see the end solution of a problem; he sees the root and what caused it.
I see lines and want to stay in them; he sees a line that should be crossed.
I see the fully operating machine; he sees the tiny parts and how they work together.
You'd think this would be the perfect work combo and we're working on getting there, but I've realized it's going humbly to require a few things from me if we are going to make this family business thing work:
- I don't need to have the final say.
- What has been built so far is not perfect and needs a lot of work. Our baby business is only 2.5 years old and has so much room to grow.
- I need to surrender so many of the unimportant things I'm holding on to so tightly.
- I need his analytical brain to take this business to the next level. I can't do it on my own.
- I am committed to our marriage above our business. Business is not our life's priority.
- He is deserving of all the honor and respect I could ever give for taking the plunge of leaving his career to advance my dream.
It's going to be a crazy time for us, and we know that. A couple of times we've tip-toed and tried to back out of making this move, but at some point, we had to burn the bridges down #Johnnyswim style. We know there's no turning back, and luckily, we don't want to. We're committed to having a thriving marriage and a thriving business, no matter what it takes.
The other day we were talking about things we’re best at and what we feel we, through our professional careers, are destined to do. His response:
"I feel like I'm destined to support you." He literally is molding and shaping his career to be the support I need to thrive in my calling; to make sure that he has a well-watered wife who is doing her best within her gift. Excuse me while I cry, but golley, I am so undeserving of a sacrificial love like that. Especially when he knows that half the time, my ideas are nuts and I shave my legs only 14/365. Bless this man.
So, as I write this, there's a renewed gratitude for my marriage. For the opportunity to work alongside my husband and to see what God is going to do when we align our goals with His. God's plans are way way bigger than anything our feeble little brains could dream up and we're so down for a crazy ride. I will say that's the biggest thing we have in common. BIG LEAPS aren't scary to us. Well, not scary enough to stop us. When it comes to making things happen, we're pretty brazen apart, but together, we're borderline fearless.
A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of renewing our vows alongside our Mariposa team in our hometown of Santa Fe in the forest with the aspens as our backdrop. It was a quiet, small, and crazy little production, but we were blessed by the presence of our work family. Today is our 6 year anniversary and I'm glowing with love for this man.
So, here's a toast to Mariposa's newest team member, "Director of All the Things that Need Directing" ...Miguel A. Rodriguez.
6 years. 5 jobs. 2 businesses. 2 homes. 14365 cups of coffee. 1235 sessions cleaning our house. 3489 legos stepped on. 5 kids. Yes, you read that right. Surprise! The littlest mini mariposa will join us in 2021. All of that wrapped up into one crazy journey, but honestly, with no answers about the future, I don't even care where we’re going, as long as I'm next to him.
xoxo,
Laurene