grace aloud

Encyclopedia Entry: J is for Jonathan

I’ve been putting off writing this, because I’m sure there’s no way I can do Jonathan justice in just a few words written on a blog.  I decided to just embrace that and give a few of my thoughts, knowing that your husband and best friend is not supposed to be defineable in a paragraph.  So here’s a few semi-unrelated paragraphs of thoughts that I have…

When we met, we were babies.  (16!)  When we got married, we were still super young.  (20!)  Heck, we’re still not old—(25)—but I have seen so much growth in each of us as individuals and as a couple in the last several years.  I am proud to say that I have seen both of us mature and come closer to one another.  When  some people get married young, they say they grow apart—after all, how can you know who you will be when you finish college? When you get a career?  When you’re 30? if you get married so young?  But I think that so far, we’ve been careful to grow up together rather than apart.  We look towards one another with a deep respect and appreciation of the person that we continue to become.  You never stop growing until you die anyway, right?

When we first met, I called him Jonathan all the time.  Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan, never shortened.  Then I met his family and they sometimes called him Jon.  (Not John, though… it sounds the same out loud but it’s not).  So I found myself starting to mix in some “Jon”s with the “Jonathan”s.  I’m not sure how I lean now—probably frequently Jon than Jonathan, but even when I say Jon, it’s short-hand for his whole name, Jonathan, in my head, not a name in itself.  It’s funny that others we meet seem to look to my language to figure out what to call him.  Some, I’m sure, think it’s “John” or “Jon” by itself… When they ask he says he doesn’t care.

A few things that I appreciate about Jon(athan): He teaches me about sports.  He cares for me deeply.  He loves a good joke.  He takes care of our dog.  He is so very responsible with our finances.  He does things for me that he knows I will forget (like paperwork).  He gives me a hug when he can tell I’m feeling down.  He has never complained about the way my housework has fallen off this semester with a full-time job + school + a clinical caseload, and he has picked up all the slack in my busy-ness.  He tells me how proud he is of me.  He works hard to grow and become a better person.  He likes our cat even though he’s not a cat person.  He gives my brother a hard time.  He is passionate and works hard at everything he does.  He thinks it’s hilarious when I get tickled.  He cooks a mean baked tortellini and lets me take credit for the recipe (most of the time).  He loves going to church together.  We’re encouraging of one another rather than competitive, even though we’re in the same field.

A few things I’m looking forward to in the future: Moving to a new part of the country in 9 months and having adventures together.  Working together on projects.  Buying a home and having it be ours.  Having children together and seeing him be a dad.  Spurring one another on toward growth in our personal lives and our faith and our careers.  Encouraging one another when times are difficult.  Vacations.  :)