Disbelief flooded my mind. Followed by a panicked call to my husband from work…

“Honey, did you realize today is our anniversary?”

[He claimed he didn't forget and was waiting to see if I remembered. Sorry, but no. He’s an amazing husband and wonderful dad, but remembering dates has never been his thing.]

Sure, there were plenty of reasons for forgetting:

– A house remodel

– A toddler

– Non-stop work (for us both).

[I was in the middle of one of the most difficult deals of my career.]

But there was no real excuse. Which is why my inner voice kicked in hard:

How could you? This will ruin your marriage. He’s not going to forgive you.

I spiraled for a good 15 minutes. But then I stopped myself because… Why do this?

That kind of thinking wasn’t helping me. Nor was it helping him. And it definitely wasn’t helping our marriage.

You know what would help?

Making time for one another. Being fully present. Enjoying the little moments.

That night, I cooked an amazing meal. We talked. We laughed. We promised never to let it happen again.

(And we haven’t.)

The lesson, Friend?

We all do (and forget) things we’re not proud of. Next time that happens to you, don’t beat yourself up.

It won’t fix the problem.

Instead:

Apologize.

Learn from it.

Make a change.

And then, move on. It’s the best you can do (so do it!).

XO,

Heather

P.S. This week (on July 17th), Jeff and I celebrate 26 years of marriage. And this year, I’m not cooking — our oldest is cooking for us!

Who says there aren’t perks to getting older?