How I met your father

This month, M and I will have been together for 3.5 years. My longest prior relationship was capped at 2. I knew a month in that I was going to marry him. He took a little longer :)

We were friends for a year before we got together. There was too much there, though far apart, not to get together and see if our feelings were real or not. So, when I left DC, where I was living, for a weekend to go to Alabama and look for a place to live during law school, M met me there. Turns out we liked each other as much in person as we had from a distance, and I quickly made several more trips to see him before beginning law school.

Throughout law school, I drove the 6 hours each way to see hiim at least once a month, usually more. I stayed longer during breaks, including 6 weeks last summer while interning in town. I think I told him I loved him at a month. It just felt dishonest not to tell him.

We've had our issues, but overall, things have been great. We both love football (though opposing teams), and he got me into fishing, his passion. We had the same sense of humor, and I can crack him up anytime I want. We're sweet to one another - him with little gestures, me with silly things like overnighting homemade cookies to him. We're on par with each other intellectually. We're silly in the same ways. I don't make him see many chick flicks and he doesn't mind my potty mouth...much. We like each other's families. We each had 2 dogs, so now we have about 3 dogs too many, but its hard to deny we were meant to be together. Which doesn't mean that it isnt work sometimes.

The wedding was perfect. We're both unlucky people - rarely do we go out to dinner without something going wrong, often badly. But that day, the sun was shining, but not too hot. Everything went on schedule. He could barely hold back tears as he saw me in my dress. The Unitarian Universalist minister that married my father and stepmother almost 15 years ago officiated at our ceremony. The ceremony was a blur, with nods to both our mothers in the form of a prayer his mother selected and breaking a glass in honor of my stepmother's Jewish heritage. Both our entire families were there, even my half-sister I never get to see. We had a blast with the photographer, who got a lot of great shots. The meal was delicious, the music was great, and everyone had a good time. Its hard to get my family together, but we did it. The children in the ceremony behaved. Everything was perfect. Our only regret was that we didnt have more time afterwards to spend with our family, or to spend in the amazing suite the hotel gave us. We asked everyone to write a piece of advice on their placecards, and we had a blast reading those as we returned to Tallahassee.

This is the first time we've lived together, and sometimes it's stressful. We're both tired and stressed out. But, we're in love. I can't wait to see what the next chapter holds.