5 Things I’ve Learned from Bart

Today is Bart and my 14th anniversary which seems just wild.

We were just talking a few days ago that in many ways, it feels like it should be longer than 14 years since we’ve packed so much in.

Four children, 12 homes, 3 graduate degrees, a whole boatload of jobs for both of us, multiple businesses, and lots of highs and lows.

I thought in honor of our anniversary,  it’d be fun to share five things I’ve learned from Bart over the years.

(this photo is from a family photo shoot we did in 2016 when I was pregnant with Tally – I’m suddenly realizing that we don’t have many photos of the two of us!) 

5 Things I’ve Learned from My Husband

1. To unpack immediately. My natural inclination is DEFINITELY to leave an unpacked suitcase for a few days, but I learned from Bart that it’s much better to just put everything away immediately. He came home from a work trip a few days ago and he unpacked everything, including putting the suitcase back in the basement, even though he didn’t get home until after 10 p.m. (Along the same lines, my good laundry habits were all learned from Bart – I used to ignore the pile of clean laundry for days. Now, it always gets put away the same day).
2. A love of sushi. My family was not into any sort of adventurous eating when I was growing up. One of Bart’s brothers was a chef for years at a high-end sushi bar and a few months after we started dating, Bart and I went up to have dinner there. I was prettttttty nervous because I’d never had sushi, but it only took one dish to win me over. His brother kept bringing out one amazing dish after another and I’ve never looked back. (Bart also introduced me to Thai food and Korean food, both of which I love now. Also, a deep love of cheeseburgers which I didn’t care for at all growing up).
3. To keep the car clean. On our first date, I was super impressed by how clean Bart’s car was and thought maybe he’d cleaned it up for our date. Turns out, he ALWAYS keeps his car pristine. I’ve learned the delights of a clean car and even with four kids, I try to keep my car as clean as possible all the time, including vacuuming it out regularly and not letting stuff pile up in there. It makes me happy every time I get in the car.
4. How to put the toilet paper on the roll correctly. Before we got married, I legit had no idea there was a right way to put a toilet paper roll on the holder on. Now, the idea of putting it on upside down seems crazy to me.
5. A love of entrepreneurship. When we got married, my interest in starting or running a business of my own was absolutely zero. My dream job was working for someone else and just doing what they told me to do. Now, I LOVE working on both Everyday Reading and Savvy Learning and I have no interest in being an employee again. I cannot believe what a complete switch this has been from how I felt 14 years ago. (I still have no idea how to spell “entrepreneurship” without spellcheck, though).

I’d love to hear what big or little things you’ve learned from your significant other!