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Ahhhh, Annapolis, you have our hearts! This past weekend was a dream. Annapolis is a special place for us for a number of reasons—Caleb graduated from the Naval Academy, so naturally we have many memories here. From late nights in downtown Annapolis (DTA it is so affectionately called) and ending our nights at Pusser’s scooting (read: booty popping) across the dance floor, to sailing on the Severn River, to exploring the yard and surrounding areas…it was where we really began our love story (sort of).

A few highlights from our past in Annapolis:

1. Attending the International Ball and the annual concert that accompanies that week of festivities. We got dressed up, went out, and (re)started our love story over Adult Mac’n’Cheese at Fed House.

2. Caleb finding a necklace on the ground downtown and giving it to me as if he bought it specifically for me and letting me think that until this past weekend when he told me the truth! Some women might get mad at this, but it matched my outfit perfectly when he gave it to me, so I see it as “it was meant to be.”

3. His proposal that he so lovingly planned. Leave it to me to miss the majority of the details of what he planned…but thankfully he still wanted to marry me even after I didn’t see the rose petals scattered across the dock and boat that he spread out.

4. Graduation day and commissioning week. We were celebrating so many things at once…my college graduation, his college graduation, his commissioning into the Marine Corps, and our upcoming wedding two weeks after his graduation date.

5. And finally…this weekend when we returned to witness two dear friends promise their lives to each other. It seemed to sweep us up and reinvigorated our love for one another as husband and wife as well.

When you get married, so many people have advice for you on how to “make it last.” They say there will be ups and downs, highs and lows, blah, blah, blah. But when you are about to say your vows, you are so swept up in love and details and life that it’s hard to comprehend what a “down” or a “low” feels like. This past year was the first time Caleb and I came even close to having one of those lows. While it is difficult to navigate through those (especially the first time), those lows allow you to fully appreciate the highs. And that is what this weekend truly was for us—the peak of a mountain after a valley.

My unsolicited advice for newlyweds, and all married couples for that matter: Embrace the valleys as much as you do the peaks. For without one, the other cannot truly be appreciated.