Meet Me after the Altar.

Dear Child,

Happily Ever After is a stack of memories built on the strength of a love that took the risk.

For every love that takes the leap of faith, it looks like a thousand different things.

But it definitely wouldn't hurt if 'happily ever after' looks like breakfast together, whether in bed, in the garden or our well worn dining table, talking over plans or sitting in the silence of our unspoken thoughts. Our hands finding their way to each other like reflex. As long as we are together.

At the end of the day, it looks like ordered-in-dinners, dressed in our sweats and curled up in front of the TV because we are past the stage of impressing each other with our non-existent culinary skills and keeping up with the craze of hitting all the restaurants for dinner dates. We find our way and live by what works for us even though it is not popular opinion.

It sounds like our mismatched voices, singing offkey to our favourite songs to the dismay of our children. Lost in the wonder of the moment, swaying to the music that plays to the beat of our shared heart, we look at each other and are reminded of all those moments where we held each other like that and hold on to the hope of the thousand more that will come. It sounds like the melody of our laughter, spontaneous and wild, over our inside jokes. It is conversation we can have with a wink, a raised eyebrow, a glance and our secret gestures, a language only we become privy do. Because we do it together.

It looks like forgiveness, of things said and unsaid, of things done and undone because we've shaped our expectations of each other with understanding and pruned them with experience. The uncertainty of the first few years paves way for the consistency we settle into. It doesn't

mean we stop striving for a higher standard, it means working towards it in grace. Together.

It feels like desire, not the wild fleeting fire but an everpresent steady pulse, kept in record through a series of messages that follow you through the day when you are apart. It is showing up without waiting to be asked because we've grown comfortable with each other to expose all facets of our persons. It is learning everyday about the person you love and investing in what you learn. It is staying around and not giving up without a fight.

Happily Ever After is weathering the storms...and the joys hand in hand. It is the reality that life doesn't guarantee a smooth sail. And it means being present for the mad times, staring a promise in the face when it feels easier to walk away, holding each other through the tears. It is the joy of seeing your children grow and bear witness to the love that still sweeps you off your feet thirty plus years in, hanging on to a dream you build brick by brick, holding each other through the smiles. And you hold on together.

It looks like getting roped in for events that you would never choose. It will sometimes mean looking uncomfortable at a music concert or appearing out of place at a book club meeting, sitting through a football game or keeping up with a TV drama. Happily ever after is where differences take a backseat and togetherness owns the front. It is striking the balance without losing your individuality and evolving into the people this love grows you into. It is laying the rest aside and reminding the beloved, everyday, that you choose them.

Above it all, you choose them!

What I truly know about Happily Ever After is that it should get you to the point where the words are insufficient and you sum it up as 'Happily Ever After' because the good times outnumber the bad and in hindsight, there is little you would have done differently.

They've probably told you to go after that person that makes your heart race like love is a sport, I think it is better to go after the one that makes your heart stay because love should be a home.

From,

One who knows only a little.