And, I'd Say It Again

Nancy, not so very long ago we reached out to each other for a simple connection. Looking for conversation and kindness, we each found a friend. Across a hundred miles we wrote to one another about family, books, movies and music. We took time to feel each other out, to find the kernel of truth at the center of the words. We wrote about the important and the trivial things in our lives .

For weeks you knew me as grumps and I knew you as curious, skeptical. And then one day at the end of one of your messages you typed, “You can call me Nancy.”

Today I’m here in front of our friends and families to declare that I’ve come to know you as so much more than that.

You are my friend. With you I can share my thoughts, feelings, ideas and troubles. You laugh at my jokes, sometimes for the umpteenth time. You tease me when I go over the line. I promise to never take that friendship for granted but to nourish it, feed it and to let it grow.

You are my sounding board and my challenger. You help me make my life better by showing me ways to make it stronger. You listen and help me to edit. My day would be much poorer if I didn’t start it with you at the table. I promise to respect your ideas as you help me refine mine.

You are my safe harbor. You allow me space and offer comfort when I need it. You brought laughter and light back into my life when I was at my lowest. I promise you my fidelity, comfort and love in return.

You are my family. You have accepted and joined my family as it is and you have opened your family to me. I promise to cherish the relationships and values that they have given us and to instill them in our grandchildren.

You are my partner in life. We share discoveries and walk old familiar pathways together. We filter the world through each other’s eyes. I promise to nurture the sense of wonder that we share to the end of our days.

You are my wife. Those are the words that express my joy and my hope. You have made me a better man and I will love you forever because you did.

Nancy, I adore you. I promise, in front of all our family and friends, to love and to cherish, to comfort and honor, to share my life no matter what path it takes us on for as long as we live.

Happy Anniversary, Darling