“Love does not begin and end the way
we seem to think it does.
Love is a
battle, love is a war; love is growing up.”
–James A. Baldwin
Photo Credit: JBYLER Photography renamed Imagery Elixir
Like many young girls, I grew up with
a misguided fantasy of what it would be like to fall in love. This
illusion was constantly reinforced by the storyline of romance novels and movies
which depicted a man and women crossing paths by a serendipity encounter and
falling madly in love the moment their eyes met. I dreamed that one day I too would meet my
very own prince charming, and we would live happily ever after.
As fate would have it, I did meet the
man I would marry due to an accidental encounter. I was rushing from work one December day to
catch the bus home as I did every evening.
The bus ALWAYS arrived at 7:15 pm.
However, this snowy day it came at 7:00 pm and was gone by the time I
reached the bus stop. I was frustrated
by my misfortune and prepared myself for the half hour wait in the frigid
weather. I noticed a young man who
looked vaguely familiar arriving at the bus stop and looking a bit lost. He asked me what time the bus was scheduled
to arrive. We began chatting about the
weather and soon found ourselves lost in conversation. Before separating we exchanged contact
information.
It was definitely not love at first
sight, but we did become immediate friends. Over the next few months we spent many hours
chatting and getting to know each other.
I felt comfortable with him, and our relationship was honest and genuine
on a level unlike any other I had ever experienced before in my life. We laughed together, cried together, and soon
became best friends.
While I was not intentionally pursuing
a romantic relationship, our friendship organically began to grow into
something more. Five months after our
initial meeting, we began our journey as a couple. It just felt right. Every day my love for him grew, and I
was so incredibly happy.
After three years of dating, he took
me to his hometown in Grenada to introduce me to his family. I was fascinated by the gorgeous island and
was welcomed by his family. On the last
day of our trip, he took me to a breathtakingly beautiful beach in which he
asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.
Moments after I say, ”Yes!” a local man who made his living entertaining
tourists ventured over to sing a song he made up about us while playing a tune
on his ukulele. It is impossible for me
to recall this moment without smiling.
We are madly in love, but we never fell
in love. It was a gradual process
that took months, even years to take root and is still growing every single
day. While it is easy to fall in and
out of love, it takes a great deal of effort to nurture love and keep it
growing for a lifetime. This summer we
will be celebrating five years of marriage and eight years as a couple. Our journey of love is just beginning, and I am excited to see where the journey takes us. Each day we strive to cultivate our love so
that it may continue to grow. It has not
always been easy, but it has always been worth it. He is my best friend, my lover, and my hero. He is my happily ever after.
Photo Credit: JBYLER Photography renamed Imagery Elixir
HOW BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN...SO SWEET AND PRECIOUS. THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF REAL LOVE. AND WE ALL LOVE HIM TOO. HE IS SUCH A SPECIAL YOUNG MAN. WELL DONE.!!!
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