A Whole Lot of Love

I saw the love of my life for the very first time on a Saturday night. I was standing with a group of other freshman at a get-to-know-you campfire on the day I moved in to the dorms at college. I spotted him across the fire with a big group of guys. For a moment, time stood still. Unfortunately,as hard as I tried to will him to look at me, the look wasn't reciprocated. He never even turned my way. From that point on I couldn't get him out of my mind. There was "something" about him that drew me to him.
I was ecstatic when he turned up in my library tour group the next day. I convinced myself that he was staring at me while the librarian was going over how to locate items in the library. It later turns out that he had still not noticed me. More than likely, he now tells me, was that he was "spaced out" in my direction.
We finally met on the third day of college.
He was slick. A charmer. A flirt. He did the greatest impressions, and told the funniest jokes.
I tried to play it cool. Pretend I wasn't interested in him. It seemed to work a little too well. He paid me no attention. In fact, he barely talked to me when we were together with others. My heart was crushed.
Fast forward a week. Word got out that I was interested in him and word got out that he was interested in me. Gasp! This cocky, cool guy who I was convinced had never noticed me, actually liked me. So much, in fact, that he was too nervous around me to talk.
One night, our friends made up an excuse to all quickly leave while we were hanging outside in the courtyard. The two of us were left alone. Not wanting to say goodbye and end our night so soon, we decided to take a walk. The walk lasted 7 hours and ended at 4 am the next morning.
We talked about everything: our family, our homes, where we lived, past relationships, interests, beliefs, we shared stories, adventures, and life plans.
I had never met someone that I felt so comfortable with.
I fell hard. Within weeks we both knew that we were meant to share out lives together.

That was almost 13 years ago. This summer we will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary.
Every day I fall more and more in love. He still makes me laugh like I did on the night of our very first walk. I still get butterflies when he walks in the door after returning home from work.

When I look at our family, at our two little boys, I remember back to all those dreams we created together when we were young.

This is better than we could have ever imagined.

If I could wish something for my children. It would be to find a love as amazing as the love that I share for their father.
This love is magic.

To my One and Only on this "Day of Love." I know we don't need a special day to say it, because we say it and try to live it everyday, but here it is just because. I love you to the moon and back. Forever and always.

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."
-Winnie the Pooh