I’m not one of those people who likes to test the water with my big toe, assess the situation, and make an informed decision about whether or not to jump into the lake. Instead, I prefer to live my life in the form of cannonballing into the lake, unsure of what I may find, but knowing it will all work out the way it’s supposed to.

My husband, Isaac, is quite the opposite. He’s all about calculated risk management (is that a thing?), understanding his options, expert opinions, and bar charts with projected outcomes. It’s one of the things I truly love about him. With our clashing personalities, where I’m the one cannonballing into the lake and he’s on the shoreline taking water samples to test for parasites, it’s amazing that we work so well together.

Isaac is made up of beautiful shades of gray, each one blending seamlessly into the next. He can see the bad in a good decision, and the good in a bad one. He can look at a situation objectively, even when those involved are close to him. I am a rigid black and white– it’s good or it’s bad, there’s no room for middle ground. But he is teaching me, and has already managed to smudge the line between black and white. After almost 7 years together, I can see my shades of gray slowly starting to appear.

The reason for my rambling about the wonder that is my husband is because tomorrow marks our one year wedding anniversary. While our relationship has been a lot of compromise, learning, and adventures in domestication, it all started as one, giant cannonball.

We cannonballed into our relationship, and not very gracefully either. There were a few people hurt, our families were worried, and our bank accounts dwindled as we spent night after night watching sunsets together from our 300 square foot, $1000 per month studio in the Florida Keys. Knowing Isaac the way I do now, it makes me wonder what was going through his analytical and rational brain in those months that we played “house” on an island hundreds of miles from our friends and families, and took a chance on each other.

I am thankful to have found a partner who will allow me to cannonball through life, and at the same time patiently teach me the value in testing the water first. I am also thankful for someone who will often grab my hand and cannonball with me, even though it probably goes against his better judgement and instinct.

He knew what he was getting into though. After all, I did cannonball my way through our wedding vows. Somebody jumped the gun, cut off the pastor, and squealed “I do” way before she was supposed to. She doesn’t do many things gracefully, even getting married.

Because when you know, in the very depths of your heart and soul, that you are jumping into a lake that is safe and most likely not filled with super slimy creatures and rocks, you cannonball into it hard.

Happy anniversary to the man who keeps me grounded, while still letting me spread my wings to fly. Thank you for a wonderful first year of marriage, I love you forever.