25 Years Is A Long Time To Love Someone

But wow, do they do it well.

The story of how my parents met is actually one of my favorites. Let me set the scene for you: Both of their families had cottages on Posey Lake (where we still go to this day). My mom, 15 and beautiful, was soaking up some sun out on the swim raft with a good friend. My dad, 18 and trouble, was well, looking for trouble. My mom and her friend were minding their own business when my dad and Joe Stepanski rode by on their jet skis. Now, I don't know whose idea it was, but the two of them started showing off and splashing water all over my mom and said friend. Long story short, after the boys left, my mom's friend told her she thought my dad was cute. Well, my mom thought my dad was cute, too. Let's just say said friend was never invited to the cottage again.

And the rest is pretty much history.

On March 3, 1992, my dad popped the big question in San Diego, California and my mom said yes. Well, almost not. My dad woke her up that morning to go for the walk, but the weather was lousy and she was not having it. After some convincing, she agreed to go. That was probably the most nerve-wracking five minutes of my dad's entire life. Thankfully, she's not as stubborn as him ;)

And so the wedding planning began. I remember my dad telling me once that he didn't want to have a long engagement. He was too excited to marry my mom and didn't see the point in waiting. He just wanted to be her husband already. So on October 24, 1992, the two of them said, "I do" and my two favorite humans started their life together.

Fast forward 25 years, and they are still so in love. 

It's not every day you know a couple celebrating 25 years of marriage. That's because marriage is work. It is compromise. It is sacrifice. It is patience. It is trust. It is respect. It is understanding. It is passion. It is forgiving. It is love.

It is so much love.

It's having someone to share life with and build dreams with. Someone to fall into after a long day. Someone to challenge you and make you want to be a better person.  Someone to wander and explore new places with. Someone to dry the dishes while you wash. Someone who knows which side of the bed you like. Someone to raise children with. Someone who sees past your flaws. Someone to laugh endlessly with. Someone to share secrets with. Someone who knows you better than you know yourself.

Marriage is the purest form of love. It tests you and pushes your limits, only to teach you your limits are forever expanding. Just when you think you can't, suddenly you can. Because you want to. Because you want your love to keep growing. You want your heart to keep being fulfilled. You seek and strive for the moments that make love wildly spill from every crack and crevice of it. 

Lucky for me, I have two parents who exemplify this definition of love every day. 

They still hold hands. They still make time for each other. My mom still makes my dad's lunch and my dad still buys my mom flowers just because. They crack jokes, and they're silly, and their dance moves are my all-time favorite thing in this world. They're the type of couple that light up a room. The kind you look at and say, "I want a love like that." Because it's fun, and it's easy, and it's real. At their best and their worst, it's still the same, real love. And it's a love I can only dream of finding for myself someday. 

Happy anniversary to the couple I admire most. Thank you for setting my standards ridiculously high.

xo, Alex