A little late...

It wasn't love at first sight. Definitely like at first sight. It was a good first date. Good enough to warrant a second, and a third. He was smart and funny and cute and easy to talk to. He came with the recommendation of someone I trust implicitly. He was grounded, knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. For a girl that was in the midst of the mother of all mid-life upheavals, that seemed a little foreign and kind of hard to relate to.

Thankfully, he was also persistent. Never pushy, never overbearing or clingy. But always there, never sending conflicting messages about his intentions. Always a gentleman, always an incredibly easy person to date. An easy person to date, attached to an incredibly difficult one.

And so like became more than like, and eventually love. I remember getting a text from him one day and noting the smile it brought. The tingle of excitement to see his name. There was nothing special about the message, only the boy who sent it. That, more than any other moment, is when I knew. When I was absolutely certain that this one had reached me in a way that no others had.

There were some bumps, although surprisingly few. Sometimes he had to remind me that even he has a limit to his patience:-). And there were always extenuating circumstances, always a higher priority. But eventually that all just didn't seem to matter. Eventually, this girl who alternates between being supremely self-sufficient and finding remarkable reservoirs of assistance found the boy who matched that perfectly. The boy who didn't need what she didn't have to give, and had in abundance the things she needed most.

I'm a better person because of him. I'm better because he makes me better. He makes me want to be as good as him. As kind, as smart, as selfless, as driven. He makes me want to deserve the immense amount of love that he has to give. He makes me feel loved and valued and respected and desirable. He makes me feel like I'm the prettiest girl at the party, every day.

Three years ago, I stood across from him and told everyone that matters to me that I wanted to marry him. I told everyone that matters to him that I would spend my entire life doing everything I can to justify the love that he gives me. Rolling around in my belly that day were two tiny little girls who will someday learn exactly how fortunate they are to have their Daddy. Thinking of them on that day, and thinking of him, I was more certain than I have ever been that I was the luckiest girl in the world.

And I was right. Happy Anniversary, buddy. You make all of this awfully easy.

{Yea, I am a couple of days late with this...it took me a while to finish!}