Twelve Years

Twelve years ago, this was us. It's hard to believe that twelve years could go by so quickly. For our anniversary, my mom came up to stay with our children so that we could go out for a quiet dinner and an evening walk without worry. It was lovely. Easy and comfortable, in the way that people who have been together for fifteen years should be.

We had a little talk about our wedding day and what we imagined for the future in that moment. We could never have imagined our children. Though Steve always wanted to be a dad, and knew that children were part of his future, we simply couldn't have imagined the people that they would be. How their presence would bring us together and tear us apart and make us into the emotional people that we have become. So much hope and so much worry tied up inside their little bodies. And so much joy, oh the joy.

We never would have imagined ourselves in this city. We didn't know our lives would head this direction and how entrenched in this community we would become. Though we both knew that it would be that way for us somewhere. We are root setters, much as I'd like to dream about a nomadic life.

There is happiness in our lives. So much happiness and it comes from us, from our decision to partner, to work together to make our lives so full. So full of love. Still. Twelve years later. It hasn't always been easy, but it hasn't been hard either and every moment has been worth it.

I love you, Steve. More today than yesterday. Fifteen years of love that just keeps growing.