my best yes

Happily ever after is complicated.
We have had, and we have held.
When we turn around and look back, it appears as though we've been climbing a little bit of an incline over the years.  That's what couples do though, right, crawl up and through it all together.
Perhaps our happiness has not actually been a result of the absence of problems, but our ability to deal with them. Together.

He has figured out the perfect grinds to water ratio for our coffee.  He gives the best pep talks, and even better bear hugs.  His mixed drinks are my favorite.  He fixes leaky faucets and will happily go out to grab late night ice cream.  He lets me run away from home for exercise and fall fast asleep on the couch at night.  He shuttles children to school and mops the floors and simmers dinner and does not complain.

He is a human and has flaws, a short list of which I could rattle off.  But none of them are fundamental, none of them hit upon things that are intolerable.  In terms of his core values, in terms of his plans and his priorities, he has never disappointed me.
Long gone is the starry-eyed wedding gaze, but he is still my best yes.  We can still exchange pleasantries about ordinary stuff, still share dreams and appetizers and sheets, still partner in celebrating big and small things.

And there are several little, living reasons I am grateful we chose each other too.  I love the legacy we’re creating as much as I adore the person I’m creating it with.  I’ve known him for most of my life, and I’ve never seen his eyes light up the way they do when he’s with his children.  I am eternally grateful he’s my one person in the world who knows what it’s like to love the boys the way I do.