long-distance marriage

I’ll love you forever and I’ll like you for always. I know I’m not the first person to kiss your lips or make your heart skip a beat. I know I can only retrace lines that have already been drawn unto your skin and inhale your scent that has already been inhaled by a few before me. So no, I may not be your first, but I can’t express how lucky I am to be all of your lasts.

I have prayed for you all of my life, you swooped in like a superhero and you took all of my pain and fear and fought it all away. You have proved that there is nothing more important than us and our family. And wow, it’s going to be so hard to not have you in arms reach. Your lips won’t be there to catch mine and your hugs won’t be there to dry my tears. We’ve done this before, the long distance. Being in a long-distance relationship was one of the most difficult phases of my life, but it was so worth it. I know it will be even more troublesome with the strength of our love now, but all while, it may be easier.

We will start our journey as husband and wife with a hundred miles between us, but no one else could be closer to my heart than you are. Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It is for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It is for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough. That is what got me through dating someone miles away, I knew you were always enough.

I wonder why people still underestimate the authenticity of long-distance. I fell in love with your soul when I couldn’t even touch your skin. If that isn’t true love, then please tell me what is.

Soon, I may not be able to hold you physically. I may not be able to hug you as much as I want to. I may not be able to kiss you as much as I want to. I may not be able to be the shoulder you cry on. I may not be able to cuddle or laugh with you in the middle of the night. I may not be able to tease and play fight with you. It may kill me that your heart is a hundred miles away from mine. But, the pain of missing you is worth it.

Dating was hard, but now living together, I know I would do it all over again if it meant I still get you. The few hours I spent with you were worth the thousand hours I spent without you. It seemed like missing you got easier every day because even though I was one day further from the last time I saw you, I was one day closer to the next time I get to hold you again.

I never wanted to give up because the situation wasn’t ideal. Relationships aren’t great because they have no problems. They are great because both care enough about the other person to find a way to make it work. We made it work, we made it to here. 50 days from the most exciting day of our lives. I can’t wait to walk down the aisle to you.

Some people approach distance as a barrier, but I think it is just a test of how strong a relationship is. I know if we were a storm, you’d be the thunder and I’d be the lightning. When it rains, we are closer to each other. When it's storming at 3 AM, you wake up, and out of nowhere, your room is engulfed in my light. Just for that brief moment, you were surrounded by me. Moments later I hear thunder crack and I know it’s you proclaiming your love for me. You’re my thunder and I'm your lightning.

Soon again I’ll wrap myself in my blanket and pretend that it’s your arms. I'll lay my head on my pillow and pretend it’s your chest. I’ll close my eyes and sigh. I’ll pretend these miles don’t exist. They overwhelm me completely and I just want to feel your kiss. I know soon we’ll be back into our own fairytale and that excites me into my core.

When I fall asleep at night I am waking up next to you, eating breakfast with you, getting changed with you, watching movies with you in our bed while I hold your hand and look over just to realize this is all a dream. I would do anything to look into your eyes, be with you at sunrise and sunset. Cook for you, walk with you, snuggle in bed, and kiss you goodnight. One day we'll wake up side by side. All of these little things we will never have to do alone ever again. I will be by your side and you will be by mine and everything will be right in the world.

People ask me how I know you’re the one. It was your eyes the first day we met. I looked into your deep blue eyes and I knew I could spend my life being lost in them. It was your touch, the first time your shoulder brushed by me I felt the warmth of you. You are my sunshine in human form. It was your laugh, your smile, your kindness, and your ways of being gentle. You are everything. I have said that from the start, you are worth everything to me. You always have been and I can’t wait to spend this life as your wife, showing you just how worth it you are. I couldn’t have ever asked for anything more than what I have right now.

We started our relationship as long-distance, and we are starting our marriage as long-distance, and it is so not easy, but every tear running down my cheek, as I lay without you, will be worth it. I can’t wait to never say good-bye again, and I can’t wait to start this new adventure together. You haven’t even left yet and I am already looking forward to seeing you again.