To my loving husband

To my loving husband. Today, we celebrate 5 years of marriage. Wow. 5. And to think that we were dating for 4 years before that, making our time together now almost 9 years! I feel as though it was just yesterday I walked into work just weeks after I graduated High School, and saw you there in the office in a suit and tie. And I thought…wow…he looks like a jerk. You didn’t even fist pound me like the others did.

To my loving husband…During this whole summer, you and I barley talked. Maybe once or twice. I was more so focused on my girlfriends and you were focused on getting the job done. Even during the team nights out, the dinner table we shared at chili’s and Denny’s with the team at 8pm, the conferences in Detroit, the meetings on Wednesday’s, we just never spoke.

Until one day in the late summer, something was on your mind and you came to me to talk. I am so glad you picked me to talk, I am so glad you trusted me with this issue, because it was that day, that private moment on the staircase at the office away from the group, that our friendship formed. A friendship that quickly became something real. No fist pump turned into hugs for only me. We started to sit together at the tables during team night outs, and side-by-side at meetings. We started to talk more and more, and we found each other at the office working even when we didn’t need to. It was in this parking lot… where we catched feelings for each other…

I do not think you realized how much my life changed since that moment. We said the “L” word after only dating for 3 months? I told you I don’t take that word lightly. We said we are dating each other for marriage, not just to keep busy. Can you believe we talked about marriage after only 6 months? But we never rushed into it.

We still did the things we needed to. You went off to finish your final year of college and I stayed behind to go to Community College, work, and just try to make it through with you being hours away from me. You joined the Navy and we moved to Charleston, and then to New York where we finally said, lets elope and plan a wedding…all in three months. Yup, we planned a wedding in three months. But this courthouse was where we said “I do…”

And this church…is where we said I Do again in front of all our friends and family…

Since this day, we had moved to Hawaii, have gone through two deployments and god knows how many underways. owned and sold a house, moved to Virginia, and have traveled to 7 countries together. That is a lot in five years, if you ask me.

Even with all this, we still had other challenges. We know we are opposite of each other. We know we are two totally different people. But we still love, we listen, we support, encourage, and we are always there for each other.

I want to say thank you. For even after all the hardships, you stood by my side. You loved and supported me, encouraged me, my shoulder to cry on, hand to hold, and buddy to laugh with. You are my husband and you will always come first.

To my loving husband…I love you <3