It’s true.

They are all beautiful but ours is my favorite.

How sweet is that quote?

And it’s true. When you fall in love, the rest of the other 1.2 billion just slip away…

This last week, my husband and I went on a road trip.

We drove 2,022 miles in 6 days, and spent the majority of 4 of the days in the car. Driving in the rain.

We survived without biting each other’s head off too badly!

It’s easy in life to focus on the BIG moments. Birthdays, holidays, major milestones.

But what about the little things?

What about sitting next to your soul mate, listening to music one of you hates but the other loves, and being perfectly content, because you are right where you need to be?

Today, let’s focus on the little things, and be thankful for all of them.

I found this photo on Pinterest, and it struck a chord with me.

I know that sometimes, a marriage can be so broken that there’s hardly any hope for it.

I realize that sometimes, it’s the only way for a fresh start in a truly bad and toxic situation.

But in today’s day, many people get married who shouldn’t. And then when things start to get a little bit hard, they bail.

We are in an era of instant gratification where many things are disposable. It seems like this is overflowing into our relationships as well.

My grandparents have been married for well over 50 years. Maybe it’s at least 60 now? My parents have been married for 33. They have all had struggles. Times when it would have been easier to quit. Times when they felt hurt or betrayed, or like things just weren’t working.

But they didn’t throw it away. They fixed it. And I’m speaking for them, but I think they are happy they did.

As I approach my 5th year of marriage to my high school sweetheart, I look at my parents, grandparents and the couple in the above image with respect and awe. In our 5 years of marriage, we have had bumps and struggles and times when it might have been easier to just quit. But we didn’t and we won’t. We want to be like the couple in the photo – still together after all those years.

I am a portrait and wedding photographer.

Last weekend, I was photographing a wedding and toward the end of the night, the DJ had music pulsing through the reception hall and the dance floor was packed. After a fast pop song with a lot of bass, he slowed things down and invited the couples onto the dance floor for a dance.

I made my way around the perimeter, snapping photos of the dancing couples. One couple stood out to me.

They were middle aged, maybe in their mid-60′s [hard to tell in the dark] and there was hardly a millimeter of space between them. Their arms were intertwined as they slow danced, and just as I passed, the husband gave his wife a long and lingering kiss on the lips.

I see this type of affection from young couples all the time. But it’s a rare sight for me to see two people who are in their 60′s or older, and have been married for a long time, showing that much affection toward each other.

It made me want to be the same way. I hope that in 40 years, my husband and I are slow dancing during weddings and still kissing each other on the lips.