i sat here in front of a flickering screen
and thought...what can i possibly tell you
that i haven't told you before...
in words and whispers,
notes on the back of bills,
letters with postage stamps and
envelopes covered in sesame street stickers...
love notes written in cards store bought and cards handmade...
phone calls and texts and blog posts
and facebook statuses...
conversations in the car, during supper,
while you are trying to watch a movie...
:)

i keep all my best stories for you.

when anything happens,
good, bad, funny, weird...
i can't wait to tell you.
you are my best audience...
you always listen, you always laugh
in the right places,
and you always, always make me feel better
when there are wrong places in the story.

i have shared over half my life with you.
and it doesn't feel like nearly enough.
♥ ♥ ♥

18 years ago
we said i do in a church
that neither one of us attended...
during the
mandatory
marriage planning course
we each had such a fit of the giggles
that neither of us
could speak
or look at each other
and i laughed until i cried...
afterwards,
neither of us
could explain
why.

i wore a dress and veil
that your mom made for me
and you cut your own hair
like...
the day right before the wedding.

no special jewelry, no hair appointments
we signed the marriage license
with a 49 cent bic pen.

my parents drove me to the church
in their little blue chevette
and just before i was going to leave the room
we were waiting in
to walk down the aisle
my best friend said
stop! there's something on the back of your dress!
in a mad panic
we rushed into a washroom
where she dabbed at the stain
and i tried to think of desperate-yet-ridiculous ideas
like "could we just pin it together"
or "maybe no one will see it" -
(it being a stain on the back of my dress
obviously forgetting that i would be standing with my back
to everyone for the entire service)...
she got the stain out
by the time they had played my "walk down the aisle" song
twice
and i hadn't walked yet....
your dad shouted out
maybe she's not coming!
but then i made it to the aisle...
my adrenaline was so high at that point
that i think i pretty drug my father
beside me
as i rushed down that
aisle to get to you.

i knew the first night that i met you
that you were the one.

the thing i love most about you
is that no matter
what i say i am going to do,
you support me.
even when i wanted to paint an under the sea picture
on our ENTIRE picture window...
you are always the one
egging me on
telling me i can do it,
i should do it,
i should try it...
and you know me better than anyone...
sometimes, i think you know me better
than i know myself.

happy anniversary sweetpea...
we celebrated with purple flowers and
KFC and later
maybe a movie & microwave popcorn...
sharing a blanket
curled up on the couch
and i wouldn't
have it
any other way.
♥ ♥ ♥