Our -1 Year Anniversary

September 29, 2012

Dear Bride-to-be Me,
You are going to be glowing with happiness and love. You will be so excited to see your closest friends and family, but moreso your CLOSEST friend and soon to be official family, your groom. Your ivory dress will be stunning, with hair and makeup accessorizing your natural beauty. The atmosphere of the mountains, that has always inspired you and given you peace, is here to support you and inspire you. You have worked hard, met your goals, and deserve every ounce of joy you are currently feeling. You can look back on the past year and know that you were amazing in your planning and preparation, balancing the vision of a perfect day with the consideration of the vows you are going to take shortly. You've built your relationship up with long talks about your future, your dreams of having a family, you shared your worries about maintaining it while still allotting time for each other.  You spent hours online, flipping through magazines, browsing through stores, envisioning your moment, your decor, your feelings. You've prepared with therapeutic talks and energetic walks. You found love. Focus on it today. You took care to make every guest feel as important as you do today. You honored your family, you toasted your friends. Take it all in, look around you, feel the love surrounding you, and hold onto it for those moments when it seems to have disappeared. Don't sweat the small stuff today, (you have Johnna for that). Relax, drink champagne, take lots of pictures (or have them taken) and never, ever forget the anticipation you felt just one year ago today, knowing that you were a mere year from this epic and everlasting occasion.
Love,
Your Eager Self

It all begins...

Kyle and I have been dating for over 6 years, although if you asked us, we’d probably be able to say that officially we fell in love between 3 and 4 years ago. I am no longer afraid to admit that I pretty much wanted to marry him from the first night I met him, despite the fact that he was fresh out of a failed relationship and was drinking himself into a corner. But our first date, hiking in Phoenix followed by some Jack Johnson and Pei Wei, was what sealed the deal for me. Kyle opened my eyes to the fun and adventure that exists in a town I barely knew at the time. Through the years we have uncovered many secrets together and have explored the world outside our home.  I hate using the cliché that “you just know” but as time passed, I knew that I would do anything I could to stick with this relationship and see it through to the end.  Now that end is in the far and distant future, after years of marriage, a family, and achieving other goals that as a couple we have set out to accomplish. 

As time has passed in our relationship, not only have we grown as a couple but individually. The length of our relationship helped to build our connection with each other as we needed to overcome obstacles like finishing my Master’s degree and getting new jobs.  The unending love and support Kyle provides me reinforces my love for him. 

My story begins with a lot of patience, some trials, and finally a reassurance that I am in love, for life. Each of us has a unique tale to tell. What is your love story?