There was a time when my husband and I were just smitten with each other.  We were just barely into our 20s when we met.  We lived 600 miles apart and we did not meet in the most traditional way.

He was in a band and one of my hobbies was promoting bands and booking shows.  Music is what brought us together.  It was our common ground.  We got to know each other by writing letters (yes, on PAPER!), phone calls, email messages and mix tapes.  We were two strangers who became friends and our feelings grew stronger and stronger for each other with each postmarked envelope that arrived in our mailboxes.

I’ll never forget our very first Valentine’s Day.  It was February 14th, 1998.  Early in the evening, there was a knock on my door.  The boy I was falling in love with was standing at my door, holding a rose.  He had driven 600 miles to be with me.  This was by far the most romantic Valentine’s Day.  One that made me realize I was truly in love.

We spent the next four months in a long distance relationship.  During those four months, we spoke a lot on the phone and reassured each other that what we had was real.  We knew we couldn’t continue to be apart and we weren’t willing to give up what we had.  At that point, we didn’t feel like we had much else to lose and we took a leap of faith.  We decided to move in together, much to the dismay of our families.  In their eyes, we were young and naive.  In our eyes and minds, we were going to grow old together.

Fast forward 13 years and here we are married (going on eight years) with two amazingly beautiful little girls.  My family is his and his family is mine.  We’ve extended our relationship with one another and beyond.  What started out as two young people in love has blossomed into something we could have only imagined.  We are best friends.  We are lovers.  We are parents.  When I look at him, I still remember a time when it was just us.  I remember when we didn’t have a care in the world except for each other.  Those feelings haven’t faded; they have only grown stronger and have become even more solid.

We both have the same goals for our daughters.  Even before we had children, we knew what we wanted for them.  Kindness, forgiveness, honesty, determination.  These are just a few of the characteristics we possess that we hope our daughters will pick up on.  We’re not perfect.  There are still speed bumps but we’re realistic.  When we feel things spinning out of control, we slow each other down and help each other refocus.  We’ve taught each other a lot over the years.

Our relationship has branched out and we continue to grow and learn from each other.  We may not be perfect but our relationship is balanced and continues to evolve.