First things first…
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
Moving on…
Before The Hubby and I started dating, I was seeing the guy who live across the hall for a short time {I only ever dated three guys in my life. These two just happened to live on the same floor in college!}. When he broke up with me, The Hubby came to him the very next day to ask is he’d be cool with him asking me out.
My very-recent-ex was fine with this, but warned The Hubby that I was “clingy.”
“I like that about her,” said The Hubby.
I’m not sure when I first heard of this conversation, but at first I was offended. Clingy is not a good thing! But when The Hubby had a chance to explain, “clingy” to him meant a girl who enjoyed being with him and doing all kinds of things together and needed him, not in a desperate way, but in a “I don’t want to do this life with out you” kind of way.
We officially became a couple 14 years ago today in Dublin, Ireland while on a band trip to march in the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade. And now, even 14 years later, I’ve noticed The Hubby still likes it when I’m “clingy.”
He likes to feel needed. He appreciates knowing he is missed while he’s at work. He feels important to me when I make spending dedicated time with him a priority. And he likes when I am physically “clingy” as well – holding hands, cuddling up, and the like.
Sometimes I get in a groove of just doing things myself and forget we are a team. I don’t ask for help because I don’t want to burden him. This might work well for some marriages, but The Hubby loves helping me, especially with things he is more skilled at than I, i.e. organizing, planning, packing, fixing…I could go on! A day with the kids may have left me ready to curl up in a corner by myself, but he still loves it when I curl up with him, and when I remember to do that, it is even more lovely than when we would cuddle up for a movie 14 years ago.
Our dating anniversary today has me thinking back to all the things that drew us to each other in the first place. I reminded him this weekend of that day back in 2000 when I was first described as clingy. He said he still loves it, but it doesn’t happen often enough!
We may have 10+ years of marriage and 3 kids added to our couple resumé, but underneath all that, we’re still those two kids in love who couldn’t get enough of being together. And we still love so many of the same things about each other – they just often get forgotten in the busyness of raising a family! I’m recapturing that “clinginess” The Hubby loves so much and focusing on those things I’ve loved about him from day one as well!
What drew you to your spouse in the beginning? What drew them to you? Do you still value those things in each other?
Something neither of us had 14 years ago was a love for running! That photo above was taken this weekend when we both ran the Irishman – a 5 mile, 5K, and 1 mile race all in one day! The Hubby SMOKED it, finishing 15th overall with an average 6:40/mile pace {and he ran with a pulled muscle and a head cold}! Despite being slightly slower than last year overall, I set new PRs in the 5 mile and 1 mile this year! It was cold, windy, and there was even a little snow, but this race is always a fun challenge AND it’s all about the Irish, so I can’t help but love it! Anybody else run a St. Patty’s Day race this weekend?
I'm Erin, a wife, boy mom x 3, writer, and runner in Nebraska! I'm excited to share all my favorites relating to faith, family, fashion, and fitness in this space! Enjoy! 
The Hubs and I started out as best friends, and we still are. A lot of people think we’re weird, but we’d rather spend time with each other than do “boys nights/girls nights.” We look forward to when he gets home and we can hang out. And our weekend getaways… awesome! We really are best friends, and it makes us sad when people either don’t understand or tell us “that will change.” We’ve been together for 10 years now, married 7, and it hasn’t changed yet! Know why? We’re not letting it!
What first drew me to my husband was his thoughtfulness and willingness to do anything for me. I can say that, 20 years later, that is still my favorite thing about him, and now I see just how selfless he is with our children, too.
Hooray for being “clingy”!
So happy I stopped to read your blog today. 🙂
I think Anthony & I are mutually clingy. We like to do things together; I’d rather do almost anything with him – even shopping!
What drew me to my husband was his love for the Lord. He loves with a love that is such a gift! I am truly blessed! He says what drew him to me was a “sweet spirit” and that I smiled all the time. Sometimes I forget to smile when life and days get tough! Thanks for this post.
I seriously have to thank you for posting this. I literally just stepped away from a tense moment with my beloved– one of those really silly grrr! kind of things that come up between people who live together for longer than say, ten minutes. 🙂 Your post reminded me that there was a time when it was just the two of us– not the 10 of us. I really needed to think on that, and to be reminded of what an amazing man The Lord chose for me. Thank you.