Our Love Story

Eight years ago today, I did something life-changing.

I married him.

This handsome guy was in my Spoken Word class during our first year of college. After about a year of friendship, he showed up at my dorm room to announce he was in love with me. He told me we would end up together – marriage, kids, the whole shebang – and that when I was ready for a relationship, he’d be there.

We became pretty much inseparable, made it official a few months later, and never looked back.

That was 13 years ago. And today, we’ve been married for 8.

In our time together, we’ve done a lot. We finished our undergrad degrees, helping each other study and camping out to work on brand-development projects on the floor of his bedroom with our closest friends.

We got engaged in a restaurant, quietly at our table – no big fuss, just a genuine profession of love and a happy yes.

We moved to an apartment downtown, attending way too many happy hours and then wondering why our bank accounts were so empty.

We got married in a big, beautiful ceremony surrounded by 300 of our closest family and friends. Then we partied at the best reception I’ve ever attended.

We cared for my mom as she battled terminal cancer and held each other as we mourned her passing.

We bought a little house, fixed it up and made it our first real home. Then we adopted a little stray dog and loved her like crazy, spoiling her like a proper first fur-baby.

We had our daughter and expanded our world and our love beyond what we knew was possible.

We moved to a different house, better suited to our growing family, with a little more useable space and a lot more yard for running and jumping and playing with our growing girl.

We had our son one week after moving to the new house, choosing to embrace and enjoy the craziness of the time, slowing down only to savor those sweet baby snuggles.

We’ve learned, we’ve grown, and through it all, we’ve stayed in love.

There’s been so much more – other moves, vacations, new jobs, others’ weddings and funerals – so much life lived together. As I think back on the big moments and small, there’s not one of them that wasn’t made better for having this man by my side.

I am not easy to live with. I have anxiety and bouts of depression (including pre- and post-natal), plus some really annoying tendencies to clean and organize constantly. I have not always done a good job of articulating what kind of support I’ve needed, out of both pride and uncertainty. Through it all, he’s been a constant. He has loved me hardest when I’m at my worst.

To my husband: I am grateful for you every single day. Even when you’re being a pain. Especially when I’m being a pain. I love the way you love me. I love the way you love our kids. I love the random stuff you get emotional about like Disney World, Cincinnati sports and selling your car. I love how hard you work and I love how serious you are about relaxing. I love you and I would like to keep you.