The making of a mrs

When I used to talk about how much I wanted to marry Robert, sometimes I would get the "it's just a title" response or "why do you care about a piece of paper." However, what I knew then and can tell you for a fact now is that being married is so much more than a title or a piece of paper. No matter how long you've known each other or how close you are, becoming husband and wife makes that bond so much stronger. While my life remains relatively the same, I'd be lying if I said nothing had changed.
There are some changes that are hard to get used to. I'm extremely independent when it comes to my finances. I've always wanted to pay for myself, and now, I'm having to let go of that a little because I know there are times Robert wants to take care of me. That's been difficult to give up because I always feel a little guilty when someone spends money on me. After two months I still find myself writing Sarah Coombes every once in a while and consciously having to change my name to Ryberg. At the same time, I never tire of being called "Mrs. Ryberg" or hearing Robert call me his wife.
But perhaps the biggest change that comes from being married is the new relationship it forms between you and your hubby. To some extent, if you've dated someone for long enough that close bond is already there. Robert and I have been together for four years and we've always been close. But marriage brings a whole new level of intimacy to a relationship. We're still the same people, we still have our life together as well as our seperate lives, such as video games with the guys for him and eventually school for me, but now we're a family and that new part of our relationship has made us open up to one another in ways we didn't as boyfriend and girlfriend. We involve each other in decisions we may not have involved each other in before, like our spending habits or our career choices. We've been together for years and we know and trust that we aren't going to lead each other in the wrong direction, but rather, in the direction that is best for the other and for us.
It may seem like a small change. Afterall, Robert and I have been very open with eachother since day one of our relationship. There has never been a moment where we haven't been ourselves with eachother or talked through the big decisions together. But as a married couple, it just seems we're willing to take about more intimate subjects than we were before. Even now we know that we don't have to ask the other person, we can just do our seperate things and the other will understand. But we want to- whether it's finances or career choices, we want to ask whether we should or shouldn't go for it.
It makes your bond stronger because you realize that someone has comitted themselves to supporting you, loving you, and looking out for your best interests. I suppose you could say as a wife I feel like I'm a part of something. I know my husband is going to talk to me and that he is there for me to talk to in return. That no matter what we do today, tomorrow, or the years to come, we're doing it together.

(Photo by Sarah Vivienne Photography)