Month five is upon us.

We are in month five of this fifty-plus year adventure.

Month one and two were filled with the unpacking of boxes, getting used to sharing a bedroom and bathroom, learning how to cook for two and figuring each other out.

Month three and four were filled with finally feeling settled in the house, getting used to sharing a bedroom and bathroom, learning how to cook for two and figuring each other out. But it was a little tougher.

And month five? Month five has been like a breath of fresh air. I'm almost afraid to type that out because I don't want to jinx it, but my goodness. This week has been amazing.

It could be the fact that Chris did my laundry as I was out for the count on the couch with a headache. Or that he bought me Starbucks two nights in a row just because. Or that we've laughed with each other more these past few days than we have in a long time. Or that I haven't had to beg him to do dishes or keep his laundry off the floor. He just has.

Or maybe I've just gotten better at picking my battles, if any. Or I've made sure to notice the sweet things he's been doing and I've made sure to tell him I've noticed.

But I think we've finally made it past the first major hump and it feels good. Whatever it is, I've fallen more and more in love with this man these past five days and I want it to keep going for the next five thousand plus.

Safe place.

Growing up, my parents made a safe place for us. Our home was our safe place.

In this safe place, we could get mad, get sad, and get angry. We could cry and feel and just plain dislike each other. We could slam doors and yell and stomp up and down stairs.

Basically, we were safe to let it all out. I'm not saying it was encouraged to slam doors or just be rude. But we weren't kicked out or unloved for doing so.

My mom made sure that our home was always that way. There aren't many places in this world where you can truly say how you feel or let your emotions run raw. Home should be one of them. It kept us open and honest with each other.

Chris and I are learning to make our home a safe place. While much love goes on in our home, it's also a place where it's okay to be mad, sad or angry. A place where it's okay to cry and feel and plain dislike each other sometimes. And yes, I've slammed a few doors and have stomped up and down the stairs a few times. I'm not saying those are my proudest moments.

But the best part about a safe place is that it's just that. Safe. And it allows us to open and up and just be honest without being afraid of what the other person might do.

The people in the safe place love unconditionally. They are committed to each other no matter how many doors may slam or how many mean words are yelled. Whether it's a family or a couple, everyone needs a safe place to come home to.

I know that if Chris and I get into it, it's not the end of us or our marriage. It's nowhere near that, actually. It's just a matter of us being honest and real and turning our home into a safe place for us to collapse into.

And everyone needs that.

So we are normal.

After writing yesterday's post, I was a little weary that it would come across in several different ways. I worried that it would seem that I wasn't happy. Or that I regretted this marriage thing. Or that we don't ever have good days.

All of those are completely untrue. I am so very happy and I know this is where I am supposed to be and we have so many good days. But sometimes the bad moments seem to overshadow them is all.

I feel so encouraged and uplifted by all of the comments and e-mails I got yesterday. I feel loved by friends, family and strangers alike. Overall, it seems that this is normal and I'm not alone. Which I knew it was, but written proof is nice from those who have been-there-done-that.

Thank you for encouraging me, someone you may not even know. Thank you for reading my story as I experience it and supporting me along the way.

Most of all, I want this to be a place I can be honest about my life and marriage. I want it to be a place where people can come and read and relate. I don't want to paint a picture of a perfect life, because no one has a perfect life.

Yesterday was a test, if you will, to see if I could put my raw feelings out there. Well, I did, and it was reciprocated with only love and support. As I read all of the words, tears were brought to my eyes from it all. But since I was reading the comments via e-mail at work, I kept it in. No need to introduce the messy cry to my co-workers.

So anyway, thank you for all that. I just want to keep it real.

We're normal, I think.

I wasn't sure how to write this or if I even wanted to write this. But by the end of this you'll realize why I needed to write this.

Chris and I have been married for four months next week. It's been a long transition, full of expectations that have or have not been met, with surprises and lots of figuring things out and learning new things everyday.

The third and fourth month have seemed to be especially trying. I guess that we are finally getting settled in to our place and can no longer keep ourselves busy with unpacking boxes or moving furniture around. Our schedule has seemed to stabilize and has become much more predictable. There's just a lot more time for thinking and figuring things out and learning about each other and ourselves.

That can sometimes be surprising.

Over the past few weeks, it's all been getting to me. The need for alone time. The need for space. Missing my single days where it was just me and the girls. Combined finances, schedules and decisions.

The dam broke on Saturday night. It was one of those messy, super unattractive cries. Let's all give praise that there was a box of Kleenex on my bedside table.

He said something that I heard the wrong way and the build up that was already inside of me broke. I lost it. Words and cries came out of my mouth and he listened. He held me and listened and we talked.

I expressed how I didn't know if this was normal. Is it normal for it to be this hard some days? Is it normal to have the transition period last this long? Is it normal to be crying right now?

I didn't know. And no one has expressed to me that they had a tough time transitioning as newlyweds, so I just assumed that it was just me. I thought we were doing something wrong.

When someone asks how everything is going and how married life is, you tell them, "Oh, it's great!" That's just what comes out. And, yes, it is great. But sometimes? Sometimes it's hard. No one ever answers, "Sometimes it's really hard. Sometimes I wonder what in the world I'm doing. Sometimes I wonder if it's normal to feel hurt or upset with the person I love."

And that's what gets me. That's what makes me feel alone in this. I know I'm not, but is anyone ever honest? Marriage is wonderful and it is something to be uplifted and congratulated. But I feel like it's okay to talk about the fact that it's a big change, too.

Chris talked to one of his friends yesterday who had gotten married a few months before us. My midnight meltdown had been on his mind and he wanted to ask a friend about how we were adjusting to this period of time that I was certain wasn't normal. Her words to him echoed my thoughts and I finally heard some truth in that the first few months are hard for some people. It was a relief to know that I'm not alone in that.

So that's why I wanted to write this. To have a blog where I express my journey through marriage and being a newlywed, and to only talk about the cheery times, would be dishonest. Maybe some of you on here can relate now and maybe some of you will relate one day. Either way, I know that I needed to write this and maybe you needed to hear this.

One website I've recently stumbled upon and just love is Confessions of a Young Married Couple. Her writings are so raw and honest and it is a constant encouragement for me as a newlywed.

Share your thoughts below. I'd love to hear from those more "experienced" than me.