One of my really bad habits that started bugging Jack at about day 31 was that I constantly brought up past boyfriends. It was bad. Once, when we were browsing movies at the video store, Jack picked up an indie movie and I blurted out that I'd dated both guys on the cover. I know! So obnoxious! But I was clueless.

Jack said that it had to end; that it was disrespectful and rude. At first I was furious. Why should I change just because he was a wuss? But then I got honest. What was I getting out of it anyway? It was just insecurity and immaturity rolled into a big, ugly brag ball. I wanted him to know that I was hot, damn it! That other dudes would die to be in his shoes. Which, admittedly, was lame as hell. In fact, I have total idiot shivers just writing about it. So I stopped. It wasn't easy, but I found it was actually possible to tell stories without referencing what guy I was with at the time.

Until Jack, I thought in take-it-or-leave-it terms. I found out that real love means daily compromise. It's been like that in a million little ways. Jack's made me grow up. Okay, not completely. There’s the scary closet thing...and I still have a little bit of an interrupting problem...but seriously, I'm better.

What problems popped up in your first year that you never saw coming? How’d you deal?