One Year Later

A year ago tonight, I was on my first date with Dan. I had no idea that in less than a year, we would be married. All I knew was that I was having the time of my life, dancing and kissing, and wondering how I had lived for so many years without someone looking at me LIKE THAT. And even when I announced, three days later to my BFF that I was "going to marry this guy," I still had no idea that it would be so soon.

When I think about Dan and our relationship, and the fact that we are so very different in many ways, I always come back to this - if we had not suffered through some of our past failed relationships, we may not have ended up together. Yes, we were attracted to each other, yes there is a huge amount of "chemistry" between us, but after all this time I have finally learned that those two things can only take you so far. We love each other because we appreciate each other's kindness. We both know what it's like to love people who didn't love us back, and we both know what it's like to have your partner make you feel small. And we simply don't do that to each other.

Dan is the most loving, genuine, and honest man I have ever known. And because we make each other feel so special, there just isn't any room - or any need - for manipulation and drama. And I can't tell you how wonderful that feels, or how grateful I am.

I'm so happy we found each other.