My husband and I were able to attend the wedding of some friends of ours over the weekend. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony, hidden amongst the tall corn and laid out in front of a gorgeous pond. The weather was nothing short of perfect, the bride was beyond stunning and the groom beaming… To say this night was magical would be an understatement. And the love they shared was so evident.
As I sat beside my husband and watched our friends say their vows, I reached over and grabbed his hand. I’ve held this man’s hand for the last 6 years of our marriage, 3 more of our dating years. What a ride it has been.
I always seem to get nostalgic at weddings, seeing the way the bride and groom look at each other, hearing how they fell in love and looking forward to watching their future unfold together. And I often think back to our own wedding and how magical that day was. And sometimes I miss that magic that seemed to fill the moments of that day a little over 6 years ago.
But that feeling only lasts for a moment.
Because today, I look at my husband and see the new lines around his eyes and mouth. Lines that he didn’t have on our wedding day. Lines that got there from the years of smiling and laughing together. And those little moments have been so magical.
And then he came up to me earlier this week while I was doing the dishes, wrapped his arms around my non-wedding day, baby birthing waist and kisses me with his scruffy bearded face. And I still got the butterflies like a young girl on her wedding day.
And instead of a fancy night out for dinner, now we take our girls out on Friday nights in our t-shirts and jeans to our favorite taco joint and spend the evening comparing who has more cinnamon-sugar on their crispos. And that’s beautiful.
And I have watched my husband reach out to friends who he hasn’t seen in years; I’ve watched him get out of his comfort zone and love people in big ways. And I’ve seen how he has changed since our wedding day and witnessed his heart grow bigger and bolder. That is amazing.
And then my husband told me he loved me today. He told me he loved me and his eyes told me even more. He looked at me fully; more fully than he ever looked at me on our wedding day. Because everywhere we have been, everything we have seen, everything we have felt and experienced since that June evening…. It has shaped and molded our love for one another. He looked at me with years full of moments of love, frustration, joy, disappointment, exhaustion, passion and warmth. He looked at me with real life magic. And that’s a look that I never could have seen on my wedding day; a look I never knew was possible.
And I wouldn’t choose to go back and change it for anything.
