Seven years ago today, I told DearSweetDave, in front of a beautiful gathering of all our closest family and friends, that love meant wearing your seat belt when you drove your car.
Until I met DearSweetDave I never wore my seat belt. Ever. It was just one of many reckless things I did in my life, but it was quite a poignant and important moment for me when I actually got in the car and reached for my seat belt and put it on not for me, but for him. Because it was very important to him that I wear it. I knew then that I truly loved him.
I know it sounds rather silly, a seat belt of all things, as a declaration of true love. But there you have it. Seven years later I still wear my seat belt when I drive. And I'm still very much in love with DearSweetDave.
This past year of our marriage certainly has not been easy. I haven't written the long and drawn out tomes about it here as much as I have in the past, but I will share that we've both spent a lot of time this year working on ourselves. Individual work that has lead to some introspection and important growth. It has also opened the doors of very valuable and naked and heartfelt conversations. Conversations that have been so helpful and important to both of us reaching a new understanding of what "us" and our marriage truly means.
Our marriage, by our own definition, is not forever. It is for today. Each day when we awake, we choose to be married. In this way, we make a conscious decision each and every day to be married. To commit. To love each other for one more day. In this way, our marriage is always present.
I have to give a sweet and loving thank you to DearSweetDave today for choosing me as his wife. For loving me. For being so very gentle and patient and loving with me this past year. For loving himself enough to go deep inside and really face himself and to work so hard and diligently to live a passionate life in integrity and love. I must also thank him deeply for always being my biggest cheerleader, my very best friend and my greatest lover. I can't imagine my life without him in it. I can't imagine me without him.
I'm going to keep wearing my seatbelt.
