Devorah and I: One Amazing Year… an Extra-Amazing Always

It’s been a year. A whole year.

It’s hard to even imagine.

Devorah and I joke all the time about how our dating experience seemed to last a lifetime. The process of getting to our one month dating anniversary (mensiversary?) took forever.

Yet somehow or other the first year of marriage just flew by like it was nothing. I have no explanation for why this is the case, but it’s certainly worth contemplating.

The Devorah-Yitzchak Story

If you don’t know our story, you’re missing out. It has not always been an easy road for either of us, but thank goodness, we’ve got a whole lot to be happy about. The future is looking quite bright.

Just go back in time a couple of short years, and it’s no exaggeration to say this whole scenario was wildly unlikely. But here we are. I am happily married to the so-much-more-than-amazing Devorah for a whole year.

And I still can’t believe any of this is happening.

This post is dedicated to speaking of five things I love about being married to Devorah. It is by no means exhaustive, and it is not in any particular order.

1) We Can Talk Forever

Right before we started dating, Devorah and I left long WhatsApp messages for each other. We loved listening to and responding to each other’s messages, and this was a great lead into our first date, which lasted around nine hours.

We then spent countless hours on the phone together, sacrificing sleep night after night. Why? Because we loved speaking with one another, and we never ran out of things to say or topics to talk about.

And this hasn’t lessened in the slightest. Sometimes I’m amazed at the lively conversations we’ll have in the car or the lovely talks we’ll still have late into the night.

Devorah, I hope we’re still chatting up a storm until we’re old and gray. And I hope we stay thoroughly un-boring.

2) She is an Angel to my Children

I doubt my kids fully appreciate the blessing that stands before them. Their stepmother is one of the kindest, most patient, and most thoughtful people they will ever encounter.

Devorah has a natural motherly instinct that she couldn’t shut off if she tried. And it’s that instinct that makes her always concerned that everyone has food in their bellies, they’re taken care of when they aren’t feeling 100%, and they are cared for emotionally. Her compassion and empathy are unmatched, and she wants and strives for everyone to be happy.

Being a stepmom is an ultra-complicated task and a challenge most wouldn’t be willing to undertake so quickly. Especially without children of her own, and jumping into a life living with a teenager. It’s an often thankless and grueling endeavor, yet Devorah hopped in with a vengeance, and tackles the role masterfully day after day.

And every one of my children is infinitely better off because she is in their lives.

3) Food on a Whole New Level

You should come over during meal prep time in Jaffe Land. It’s pretty much always an adventure.

Over the course of the marathon of kitchen insanity, every single ingredient and dish in the house will visit the counter, every recipe book on our shelves and every blog on the internet will be consulted, and all aspects of every component of the meal will be analyzed.

This explosion of culinary craziness always results in the most amazing food I’ve ever eaten.

From non-dairy, gluten-free cheesecakes (with zucchini in them) that my sugar-guzzling son describes as “the best cheesecake he’s ever tasted”, to savory meats and dips and sides and soups and salads, no one is ever hungry or bored in our dining room.

(By the way, I would like to set the record straight once and for all: My wife is not a vegan. She’s not a vegan! By the way, no vegans in this household. Nothing against them, she just ain’t one of y’all. So… please stop asking me if she’s a vegan!) #notavegan

4) We Laugh All The Time

Devorah is one of the funniest people I know. And it feels like every day we just laugh and laugh.

This is no small thing. I love to laugh and never imagined a life where I would be constantly doubled over laughing at the things my wife does and says, and the wacky circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Life with Devorah is so much fun and I am incredibly blessed to be able to enjoy myself this much this often.

And on top of all that, she finds me funny as well! Could it get any better?

Our home is fun. Life is fun. We have an uncanny amount of private jokes in our household, and we invite you to come on over and join with the laughter. It’s always a blast!

5) She makes me feel like I’m King of the World

I’ve mentioned before (once or twice) that the last twenty years haven’t always been easy. And all the complications have taken their toll on my confidence and self-esteem.

And I thank God every day that I have someone in my life who looks at me the way Devorah does. She looks at me, and says little things here and there, and I feel like I’m on top of the universe.

It’s not always easy to feel important. So many of us are at the bottom of the professional totem pole at work. We can’t help but allow our lives to be inundated with the mundane, everything from dishes to checking our email. It’s so easy to go to sleep at night wondering whether or not you mattered that day.

And yet from the first glance Devorah gives me in the morning to the last little snuggle of the night, she does what she can to make me feel like a million dollars. She’s fighting an uphill battle, and she’s doing so with her hands triumphantly up in the air, Rocky-style.

I love you, Devorah. So very much.

Here’s to many more years to come!