"Who, being loved, is poor?" -Oscar Wilde

Did you know...that Joseph was the first man I ever kissed? The first man I ever broke up with...and the first man I ever got back together with? The first man I took home to meet my parents and the first man I kinda sorta dumped afterwards? He was my first boyfriend. My first love. My first heartbreak and my first true companion. Joseph was in my first BYU ward. My first student FHE group. He was there when I chose my major...and there when I changed my major...and there when I chose the major that I eventually received a degree with. He was right behind me when I walked across that stage and received my diploma. He was with me when I went through the temple for the first time. He was there when I was sealed. Joe shared my experience of carrying and delivering two beautiful children. He and I have traveled more than 10,000 miles around the country together. We have lived in 6 different houses, in 4 different states. 

We are about to celebrate our 4th anniversary as a married couple, and in looking back on this time I have realized that so many of the most significant experiences in my life have been shared with him. I was just barely 19 when I married Joe, and was so concerned over what experiences I would miss out on by choosing to marry so 'early.' Good times with roommates, crazy dates with boys, significantly more financial freedom...

Well, I was young. I didn't know then that every one of the things that I was concerned about would be fulfilled a hundred times over by my darling, loving husband. He has been the best of my "good times." When he dates me I am not just entertained, I am cherished. And as for having financial freedom, well, I can honestly say that after living on a gross income of roughly 11,000 per year, I now have the skills and the confidence to know that I can care for my family even through financially difficult times. This is true freedom to me: the knowledge that in the future we will not fail, since we have already succeeded in our current situation.

 

I am a better person now then I would have been if I had chosen not to marry my wonderful husband. I am so grateful that I did choose to do so. I am still young, but I know now who and what I am and what experiences are truly and will truly be significant to me. I am a wife, I am a mother. I never knew how much I would want to plan, play, and pray with another person as I do with Joseph. Thank you honey for sticking with me when I didn't yet know how completely you would change my life. "I'm everything I am because you loved me."