Tomorrow is Michael and my five year anniversary. It’s difficult for me to put into words exactly what this means to me. To describe the magnitude of meaning behind each one of those years would be impossible. But I can tell you how it all began…

 We met when I was 19 and he was almost 22. I was a freshman in college and was not looking for anything serious. I had been in a lengthy relationship in high school and was enjoying being single. But then I met a guy, we’ll call him Ryan. Ryan and I started seeing each other very casually. We’d hang out sometimes, but we never actually had a real date. Over the course of two months I grew tired of the games he was playing and confronted him about it. Turns out he had a girlfriend. That’s when I ended it.

While we were seeing each other, he’d often bring some of his friends around to my dorm. One of them was Michael. I’m ashamed to admit this now, but I actually tried to hook him up with one of my friends. Luckily, that didn’t work out!

Our first real interaction began at a very lame concert we were both working at. We spent the day talking, he brought me lunch…and over the course of the day I noticed I was always looking around to see where he was. That’s when I knew I wanted to know this guy.

The beginning of our relationship was new for both of us. The feelings for each other were intense and fast, and took both of us off guard. Michael, who had always been cautious with his heart, said he was torn between the feelings he had for me and the loyalty to his friend. It didn’t take much to convince him that what we shared had the potential to be something amazing and we shouldn’t throw it away because of a disloyal friend.

He listened to me, and I’m so glad he did.

Through the stages of our relationship we’ve dealt with some big stuff – cancer, depression, and the death of a parent– and through it all, we stood by each other. I know that the support we gave each other is what got us through some really hard times. I can also say that so many of my happiest memories include him. Birthdays, holidays, graduations, first jobs….he’s held my hand through all of it.

We say “I love you” every day. Usually multiple times. It never feels like we’re saying it just to say it. We say it because we mean it. I can honestly say that I love him more than I did five years ago and with each passing day, I love him even more.

Tonight I will go curl up on the couch with him and think how lucky I am. And tomorrow we will celebrate five years together. I can’t wait until the day we celebrate 50.