46

‘I love you’ means that I accept you for the person that you are and that I do not wish to change you into someone else. It means that I do not expect perfection from you–just as you do not expect it from me. It means that I will love you and stand by you even through the worst of times. It means loving you when you’re in a bad mood or too tired to do the things I want to do. It means loving you when you’re down–not just when you’re fun to be with. ‘I love you’ means that I know your deepest secrets and do not judge you for them–asking in return only that you do not judge me for mine. It means that I care enough to fight for what we have and that I love enough not to let go. It means thinking of you, dreaming of you, wanting and needing you constantly, and hoping that you feel the same way for me.

“My husband puts toothpaste on my toothbrush and leaves it lying on the sink for me every night before bed. He is the sweetest husband ever!” —Lisa Wilkes-North, Heath, TX

“I scour the TV listings for his favorite movies or a sporting event that I know he’d love to watch. I TiVo it without telling him, then surprise him with it on Saturday morning. Bonus: While he’s on the couch, I’ve just bought myself some me-time. Manicure, pedicure, here I come!” —Cindy Panowicz, Grand Island, NE

“When I take a shower at night, I write messages on the fogged-up mirrors so they appear when he takes a shower in the morning before he goes to work.” —Jackie Peirce, Oley, PA

“Before my husband leaves for work, he sets the table for my breakfast. He lays out a bowl for cereal, a cup for orange juice, strawberries, a napkin, and a spoon. For a big, manly union guy, this is a really major step!” —Patricia Armstrong, Danvers, MA

“In the wintertime I start my husband’s car in the morning so it will be toasty warm for him on his way to work.” —Autumn Griffin, Canton, OH

“My husband gets up at 5:30 a.m., but he pulls his dresser drawers open the night before so the noise of them opening and closing won’t disturb me. Now that’s love!” —Connie Maynord, Bastrop, TX

These people are married. In love. They chose each other. They waited. They could all bet that their significant other loves them in a minute more than anyone could in a lifetime. They found a person who makes them feel beautiful on their worst days, appreciates the little gestures and holds them within their warmth. They made it through the rough times because it’s not always clear skies, and they only grew stronger. They found love. Or better yet; love found them.

I want to grow old with someone. I want love to find me in a way that makes me want to stay. I want to settle like normal people do. I want a family. I want a loving husband that I would love to spoil and spend time with. I want someone who’d love to kiss my hands when they’re old and wrinkled, who’d look me in the eyes when I’m tired and tell me  I’m beautiful, who’d stay up to watch me sleeping, who’d stroke my hair when I’m down. Someone who will embrace me and not press on my scars, instead, he’d kiss them away.
I want to stay young at heart forever; so excited about tomorrow, always cherishing yesterday. Because I had my love in it and I’ll still have him beside me.

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale. True Story.

I am marrying the love of my life. Period.
regardless of what you might say…

There is no settling..