Marriage takes hard work and it's no secret that being a husband or wife doesn't guarantee waking up every morning feeling as blissful as the day someone said: "I do."
Lots of people still get married young
The reality is that marriage involves two people who each have their own emotions, expectations, and ideas of what marriage should look like.
Sometimes, people get caught up in the chaos of life and end up married long before they were planning on it.
For some couples it's the perfect choice
Although getting married at a young age doesn't work out for everyone, for some couples it makes all the sense in the world.
Jonna and David Miller felt like one of those lucky couples.
An American couple from Indiana is sharing their story
The couple's relationship story starts back in 2012 when they began dating fresh out of their teens.
By their 21st birthday, Jonna and David were six months pregnant when David decided to get down on one knee and pop the question.
David proposed in front of family
David proposed in front of friends and family on the Thanksgiving holiday.
Already ecstatic about their growing family, Jonna was more than happy to accept David's proposal and begin planning their wedding while she continued to get further along in her pregnancy.
They were married after the birth of their first daughter
Jonna gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Delanie, in February 2014.
Over a year later in May 2015, when Delanie was already walking around on her own, her parents finally got to have their dream wedding ceremony.
Married life was an adjustment
The honeymoon phase only lasts so long and soon David and Jonna were getting used to the routine of everyday married life.
Their life as a couple looked already much different than the homes that they had grown up in.
Jonna grew up a bit of a wild child
Jonna has revealed on social media that she grew up in a small town in Indiana where she learned to laugh, swear, and tell jokes at a young age.
Her husband David had an extremely different childhood experience.
David grew up in the Amish community
David was raised in the Amish community where he had to adhere to much stricter rules than his wife did.
David grew up in a rigid Swiss-German religious sect that favors plain living and completely rejects modern technology.
She was accepting of his roots
Early on in their relationship, Jonna was supportive of David's lifestyle and understood it would be hard for him to transition to what she calls a "regular English lifestyle" meaning a more modern American one.
She attended weddings in the Amish community and got to know how he was raised.
Life outside the Amish community was especially weird for David
Needless to say, David had some adjusting to do when it came time for married life outside the Amish community.
Jonna was happy to detail their experience on her blog and social media pages where she had racked up a considerable following— covering all the good and bad.
Jonna is a content creator
Jonna has built herself a social media presence with a following of over 550K people on TikTok and 56K people on her Instagram page under the handle @realbluntblonde.
She is also an avid blogger, and video content creator, and loves to share her sarcastic takes and sassy opinions online.
She is a full-time stay-at-home parent to their children
Being a stay-at-home mom allows Jonna to keep her online presence while sharing her family's hilarious and personal stories.
A lot of her posts revolve around her husband David and how his life has been since "breaking Amish." One particular story about what she found in her husband's pants gained viral attention that she never expected.
David works at a local RV dealership
Jonna explained that her husband David works at a local RV dealership near their home and often gets stuck working long hours.
For the most part, she accepts that her husband will be working later than he planned although she admits it can get lonely.
It's hard to be married to a working man
In one candid blog post, the mom wrote "I'm married to a hard-working man and I would be lying if I said that it didn’t take a toll on me."
Jonna details some of the struggles they face as a couple.
Jonna started to become filled with anger
"Sometimes he will come home after a long day at work and I'll be waiting for him to walk in the door."
She admits that she's only waiting so she "can yell 'you promised me you would be home at five!’ As if he would rather be working than spending time with me and our daughter."
He often didn't make it home for dinner
The mom admits that it can be hard when David doesn't make it home for dinner with the family.
One random Wednesday night, Jonna recalls playing with her daughter Delanie when she realized David wasn't going to make it home before their little girl went to bed. His dinner was wrapped in the fridge getting colder by the moment.
One night she was angry and waiting for David to return home
Jonna was still waiting for David to arrive home when the dryer dinged to signal it had finished the cycle.
She decided to get ahead on folding the laundry and pulled the warm clothing out of the dryer, still distracted by the fact that her husband hadn't made it home yet.
She was folding his laundry when she noticed something off
Jonna remembered thinking "Why does he not want to spend time with me? We're newlyweds, aren’t we supposed to be in the honeymoon stage?"
She was part way through folding his pants when she noticed something strange.
There was an obvious difference between her clothes and his
There was an obvious difference between David's clothing and her own and she wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed it before.
When the laundry was laid out beside each other the difference was hard to miss.
David's clothes were tattered, worn out, and filled with holes
Jonna realized that all of David's clothing, everything from his socks to his shirts, was completely tattered and dingy.
She asked herself "Why did my clothes look so vibrant, clean and new? His were dingy, stained, and torn."
David never shopped for himself
Jonna started to put the pieces together and realized the problem wasn't that David hadn't been shopping, it was simply that he hadn't bought anything for himself.
She remembered all of the times they had been shopping when he had insisted on purchasing something for her or their daughter and chosen nothing for himself.
The father was getting burnt out
Jonna felt the anger slipping away as she thought about the sacrifices her husband had been making for their family.
Not only were the long shifts taking a toll on David's clothing but they were also doing a number on his body and mind, she could tell he was always exhausted.
"His laundry told a different story"
The mom was overwhelmed with guilty feelings by her realization. She reflected in her blog post, "I get spoiled with the fruits of his labor and he is okay with a pair of torn boxer briefs."
"I was acting as if he was out partying with his friends, but his laundry told a completely different story."
She wrote about the experience on her blog
With her refreshed perspective, Jonna made an effort to be less frustrated when David got stuck working late.
She tried to remember that even when he's not there physically, he's also showing up for their family in a way.
The mom made a promise to herself
She made a promise to herself to be more aware of the sacrifices that David was making for the family.
Also, to be less critical because, at the end of the day, David's bond with his children and his family has always been his highest priority.
David always shows up for the family
The mom concluded her blog post by writing "Sure, I miss him and want to spend time with him throughout the week, but I have realized he is offering me the most beautiful form of love there is… He works to give our family everything we need."
"He works so his wife and daughter don't go without, even though there are times I’m sure he does."
It all started with a simple load of laundry...
Something as simple as folding the laundry and paying a little bit closer attention to David's clothes was enough to give Jonna a sort of epiphany about her own family.
And it came when she was least expecting it.
Have you had a similar experience?
Have you ever had a moment where something that seemed insignificant ended up having a big impact on your day or even life?
We rarely can prepare for those moments because they tend to sneak up on us.
