happy valentine's day!

eleven years (and two weeks) ago, i enjoyed my first date with meemer. so on this particular day, i post this for and to her.

we met a couple of months prior while working together on a project together. our first date could have been sooner, but i had trouble working up the nerve to ask... (women don't seem to understand this, but men are nodding) in fact i had let the best opportunity pass. the project was over, and who knew when we would see each other again. i'm so grateful i didn't wait for the perfect chance, and just called her, out of the blue.

from our first date on february 1 to our wedding on september 5 was an amazing, whirlwind adventure. i became firmly convinced that every so often, we come across someone we knew before this life. as we got to know each other better, i often marveled at how deeply things resonated. i wasn't getting to know you, i was catching up with an old friend after a lengthy separation. never had i yearned to learn more about someone. the bonding was quick and the love exponential. i enjoyed every moment with you, and when i wasn't with you, i counted down the time (often literally) until i would be. even our brief lunch-dates between classes and work were joyous and sustaining.


our marriage has been better than i could have imagined. seriously. it's with you! my best friend. my soul mate. there is no one i would rather be with, and i'm blessed to get to have life's adventures with you! we've already had many. some more fun, and some more educational, but all valuable, and all the better together. even the more distant ones are cherished and clear memories.


celebrating our first anniversary thousands of miles away from any family, living in new york city! us. having fun, growing together, and learning to be one. having a baby together. building our family and re-learning how to be "us." building a house. having another baby. evolution of my employment. moving to our current home. having our third baby. celebrating ten years together. not to mention the many other "smaller" but just as influential things we've done together. all valuable and important because we did them together.


thank you so very much for this. i am truly happy. i know i don't fully understand all you do, nor appreciate how hard it is, but i am grateful. i don't think you know (my fault for not expressing better and more often) just how much i love you, and just how thankful i am for all you do. there just aren't words to express the depth and intensity of my love, or the breadth of my gratitude. thank you!


i have never loved anyone, as i loved you when we married. yet my love for you now makes that love seem feeble. like my love, my trust, faith, happiness, hope, joy, desires, dreams, and peace have grown. i am more than i could ever have been without you. we two are still more! (and growing) despite my failure to tell you as i should, i want you to know what you mean to me. you are my reason and my breath. i love you more than ever! i love you more than anything!

happy valentine's day.