One kiss and then another.
One day and then another.
One year and then another.
Would you give one kiss for the rest of your life?
Would you live one year for all time?
One year ago I married my best friend.
We’ve packed a lot into a year. We’ve been to concerts, gone on road trips, we’ve laughed until it hurt, and we’ve some tears too (mostly the good kind). More than anything though, we’ve loved. We’ve filled our hearts with love for one another and for our family.
There are still so many moments that leave me wondering just how did this all even happen? How did I get here? Is this truly my life? And then she gives me that smile…the one that tells me exactly how much she loves me and I know that yes, this is my life…and it’s an incredible life.
We have this running joke about being at a point where there is “no turning back.” It could be in the grocery store when we’re deciding whether to get a Digiorno rising or pan crust. “Once this goes in the basket there’s no turning back.”
It could be about leaving the house. “Do you have everything you need? Did you remember to grab your water bottle? Once we pull out of the driveway there’s no turning back.”
It can be when we’re looking at something on Amazon. “Are you sure? Once I click ‘buy now’ there’s no turning back.”
The same happened when we bought our rings, got our marriage license, set a date, stood up in front of the kids, and so on and so on.
Yesterday was no different. “You know, the warranty runs out tomorrow. It’s our anniversary. There’s no turning back.”
No. There isn’t.
Would you give one kiss for the rest of your life?
Would you live one year for all time?
Over 25 years ago I met my best friend.
Then we lost touch.
It feels like we missed out on so much. There are so many points along the way that I wish I could have gotten stuck in traffic for 5 more minutes, or caught a green light instead of a red one, or chose a different restaurant, or had one more coffee because looking back it seemed we always just missed one another.
“Oh you hung out there? That’s where I hung out!”
“You were there that night? That’s impossible. I was there that night!”
“You used to go there on Wednesdays? I always worked on Thursdays!”
But then we found one another again.
Through the years and miles between us we supported, encouraged, and comforted each other through every aspect of our lives. We were friends. We did our best to take care of one another, to remind one another that we weren’t in any of this alone. There were children, new relationships, divorces, school, finances, health, deaths, births, career choices, and everything in between big and small, compelling and silly.
And then we became We.
I’ll never forget the first time we held hands. I’ll never forget the first time a hug became a Hug…and The Kiss. Neither planned or anticipated, that single moment changed everything. We knew what we had and what we wanted.
Would you give one kiss for the rest of your life?
Would you live one year for all time?
I love that she gets a little crinkle on her nose when she’s looking at me like I’m nuts.
I love that she is the last person I want talk to before I go to sleep at night.
I love how she bites her lip and cocks her head to one side when she smiles at me.
When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
One year ago I married my best friend.
Today is our wedding anniversary but every day brings another milestone, another memory, another first, another high five, another kiss, another day in the rest of our life.
It’s Our Life.
And it is an incredible life.
Would you give one kiss for the rest of your life?
Would you live one year for all time?
Happy anniversary my love. Thank you for this life.
Be Well and Kind,
JRBB