Ellie and Carl

My husband and I love the movie, “UP!”. The first 10 minutes is the best part… the love story of Ellie and Carl. They experience love and laughter and deep grief and pain, but at the heart of it all is a deep love and appreciation for one another. And they always found a way to have joy in the day-to-day. Ellie saw their life together as one great adventure. It’s beautiful. And it makes me cry every time I watch it.

Brian and I have been best friends for 15 years. We are one of those couples that celebrate it all… the anniversary of the day we met, the anniversary of our first official date, the anniversary of the first time we kissed… this October, we will celebrate 15 years of marriage. In some ways it feels like we just fell in love and on other ways it feels like we have always been together.

I have written before about how I’ve always struggled with my weight. On my wedding day I weighed 280 pounds and after our daughter was born, I worked my way up to 350 pounds. Brian put on his own “baby weight” and gained roughly 50 pounds. He also had tachycardia and needed blood pressure medication. We were “old” when we were in our early 30s.

Typically if Brian and I are discussing our story with someone and the topic of my weight loss comes up, they look at him and make comments about how wonderful he is for “staying with” me when I was heavy. Actual quote: ” And you stayed with her!?!?? Well, hats off to you!” It’s a shame that our society is so warped. I’m happy and proud of how hard I’ve worked for my health, but I’ve always been me. And Brian has always loved me. 350 pound me, 280 pound me, and 165 pound me. He always seen me for who I really am. Even when I was nervous and shy and lacked confidence, he saw the real me and has always pushed me to be the best Nora I can be.

Someday the hair color won’t be able to keep up with the gray… and the makeup won’t cover up the laugh lines and sun spots on my face. MS may limit my mobility and I’ll celebrate walks to the mailbox instead of marathons. Photo shoots and interviews will be a faint memory and my days will revolve doctor appointments. But the one thing that will always remain, is the love between these two kids.

So get ready for a lot more sappy posts over the next few months as we celebrate our 15th year together. I wish everyone could find their Carl or Ellie. I’m so blessed to have found mine ♥️.