Happy Birthday to my Eternal Friend

it’s been 3 years, 2 months, 30 days, 18 hours, 54 minutes and 20 seconds (as of this writing) since the day we first met.

we were strangers then, of course. you with your sun hat. me with my Patriots gear. your first words were, “can I look at the internship catalogue after you?”

i thought nothing of it. thought nothing of our first introductory meeting. thought nothing of the only time we formally hung out at the internship where we met, going for a late night run with a mutual friend.

neither one of us felt chemistry or any sense of attraction (good thing since our love language is touch #covenant). i asked if I could pray for you before you chose to leave the program. and that basically sums up our initial few months of being strangers.

strangers would turn into long distance pals exactly a year later. 2am voxing each other (sounds sexual, but it’s a walkie-talkie app). id use your sweet voice as a distraction from having to finish my graduate papers at Dunkin Donuts. and how could I forget you sending those adorable emoji faces to me the moment we lost to the Broncos in the AFC championship game. couldn’t have been better timing. poor you- so clueless at the time not knowing my unhealthy infatuation with football and what you were in for.

we escalated from coast to coast pen pals to friends the second I flew out to California for spring break. my heart was beating out of my chest when I first saw you by the Carlsbad cliffs. good thing I sat in the front while you sat in the back on the trip down to San Diego; it scared me to look at you square in the face. my 12-year old shyness returned.

the first moment I was confident I had a major crush on you was at Disneyland (oh, how fitting). but it wasn’t the magic there that got me, it was seeing you throw that ‘PINK’ long sleeve on after you were soaked from the water ride. it’s the little things sometimes, haha! sorry I didn’t hold your hand on Pirates of the Caribbean. now I know that you wanted me to, and boy did I want to as well (giddy teenager vibes). remember on the way home when Kodaline “All I Want” came on? i knew immediately it would become ‘our song’.

man, that trip. took an engagement-like photo at the observatory (Kyle of course said his notorious, “whaaaaat” on FB). court + alm pinned us, but we denied it. i didn’t let you go to bed after watching Penguins, because I wanted to cuddle; aka kiss you on the cheek repetitively until you went in for the kill. Jacob will never let us live it down that it “all began” on his couch.

i was back in NY for maybe 2 days before you purchased a ticket to come out two months later for my graduation #impulsive. you did and I had you sleep on my roommates crumb-infested bed while he was gone. we ran around a lake, and I saw you get embarrassed with hives for the first time. you said, “I love you” for the first time in a dark smelly NYC parking garage of all places. i stressed you out the morning of graduation, because I didn’t pack until the hour before we left (yikes!).

boy, was the next year jam packed. fast forward past my move to Seattle, our horrendous summer spent fighting getting to know the ugly sides of each other, you covering all my meals because I was broke as heck, singing you the earliest song I ever wrote for you and seeing you cry for the first time (winning), meeting your folks at Christmas & forgetting your luggage at the airport #Christinaswrath, learning how you hike WAY AHEAD, battling sexual tension 24/7, discovering that you’re more conservative and I’m more liberal, immersing ourselves into the chaos of all chaos after I proposed (almost forgot to put the ring on your finger I was so nervous), assuming we were a train wreck at premarital counseling then being told not to sweat the small stuff, listening to your banter everyday about your loathing of Seattle weather, and so on.

look at us now sweetheart. 4 months in to this thing called marriage and we killing the game. the awful honeymoon sex is over #praiseGod. we’re in a rhythm of our daily routines. you’ve learned my love language is actually cleanliness, and I’ve learned that pillow talk is the gateway drug to a woman’s heart.

above it all, witnessing you grow closer to your Heavenly Father is the most precious part of being your husband. trusting your love for Jesus + others is what propelled me to have interest in you at the get-go. and you haven’t let down since.

adjusting to your sporadic and ridiculous levels of energy, or your obsession with cuddling, or you leaving your dirty clothes scattered all over the bedroom, or your preference for organic markets over bargain groceries #imfrugal, or your weird “I don’t want to be surprised but I do want you to surprise me” talk that confuses the heck outta me when I’m trying to make special romantic plans…

the adjustments are beyond worth it if it means you sharing my love for candles, whacky dance parties, Instagram, wrestling, Christmas trees, food, Jesus, social gatherings, the outdoors, etc.

what they say is spot on: being single is easier; being married is better.

once strangers, then long-distance pen pals, then friends, then fighters, then lovers.

best part is: you’re my friend for eternity 🙂

i love you, bebe.

❤

-waltz