He worked and studied with me. He cooked with me and ate lunch together. He took me on some dates, but more often he just lived life with me.
He thought I was beautiful and didn’t expect me to live up to an image that I was not.
He wrote me notes and planned picnics. When he went away to officer candidate school we sent each other letters like our grandparents did.
He talked to me of the babies we would have and the children we would raise together.
He had a purposeful, adventurous plan for life and invited me to join him.
He thought my dreams, interests, and goals had meaning.
His t-shirts were nice to wear.
And I couldn’t imagine not seeing what life with him would be like.
I couldn’t let someone else have that honor, and wonder for the rest of my days what it would have been like to be Jesse McKeeman’s wife.
Sometimes the four kids, his job, my housework, and how we have set this life up together isn’t enough anymore because I’m not just the woman that life has made me.
I am still a girl who wants a boy to sweep her off her feet. I’m still a girl who wants to have something big to give him.
Scrambled eggs, strong arms, a sweet smile, and dreams are enough for that girl – I just have to remember how not to forget her because when I do I lose us.
Happy Anniversary my love, of course you were the one to marry. No other man could ever be to me what you are. I’m thankful to walk through life with you, and when I’m not walking well thanks for still being there – always.
A version of this post originally appeared on www.sharonmckeemanblog.com, published with permission.
