10 years

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd write a little about my Valentine. I'm not usually this sappy, so feel free to not read ;)

It was about 10 years ago that Jeff and I went out as a couple for the first time. I don't remember the actual date, because it wasn't a significant night until later. Hindsight, and all that. I asked him to a swing dance because I wanted to learn to swing dance. Valentine's had just passed, and all I got were some weird things from scary boys. I was FED UP with college men, and I'd only been in college for 5 months! So I asked my friend, Jeff, who I thought would be a good sport and go with me. Needless to say, I had a GREAT time. When I got back, a few girls on my dorm floor groaned and told me they'd lost me. I was in COMPLETE denial.

So it began. I think I fell in love pretty quickly, for me. But I was convinced it wouldn't last...because I was terrible with relationships. I was notoriously picky. So it was just a matter of time before I found something wrong with him that drove me crazy and made me want to leave. Just a matter of time.

I know exactly when I knew I was in love. We'd been dating for about a year and I was assigned a strange project for a psych class I was taking. I had to write my autobiography, from birth to death. So I typed it up in Jeff's dorm room (I didn't have a computer) while Jeff sat out in their living room. It was easy to write my life up to the present...the future posed a bit of a problem. I didn't feel ready to marry Jeff...we were going to break up for sure. So I wrote in that Jeff left me our senior year for a cute freshman. I yelled "Bastard, how could you do this to me???" into the living room. I wrote that I got married a few years later to someone else. But as I kept writing, I was incredibly sad that my future didn't have Jeff in it. So I did what any 19 year old would do...I killed off my first husband, and was reuinited with Jeff in my 30s. (interestingly, he was still a bachelor) We got married and had babies, of course. And that's how I knew. I couldn't picture my future as happy without Jeff in it...so I must be in love.

Since we began dating, we've been terribly boring. Jeff always corrects me and says "Stable". We've never broken up, or even gotten close to doing it. We rarely even fight...I think I can count on one hand the number of times he's really gotten me angry. I attribute this entirely to him. He would be successful in any relationship with any woman. He is just so thoughtful and selfless and genuinely kind. Part of the reason I'm fat is because he is constantly telling me how beautiful I look to him. He's a good listener and puts up with all kinds of crap. He's silly and makes me laugh every day...except on days he drives me crazy. He is so smart, but he never makes me feel dumb. I guess I'm just lucky I was the first girl to ask him out.

Today, he surprised me with a Valentine's gift. This never would have happened 10 years ago. The best part was a little love note stuck in the card. Oh, and the card waiting for me in Andrew's crib this morning...he risked waking the coughing angel to surprise me with a card.

I'm just so glad for these last 10 years. I certainly didn't deserve him any more than anyone else...I just got lucky that he fell in love with me too. I love that we still enjoy each other's company more than anyone else's. I love that we don't get bored of each other. I love how I fit perfectly in his arms. I love how Andrew fits in them now too. I love our 10 years of inside jokes. He makes me feel safe, and important, and content, and complete.

I can't wish for more than what I've already had in life. I love my family, my sisters, heck, I can't even complain about my in-laws like the rest of the world does. All I ask is for another several decades with this man.