the boy i fell in love with.

I was sorting through some papers and things Mike's grandmother sent back with him after his last visit with her, and I came upon a little newsletter he'd done about himself for a class in high school, just weeks before we started dating.

"THE DAILY MIKE" was printed neatly across the top of a sheet of ragged red construction paper; the words 'Price: FREE' were minuscule in the upper right. Rectangles painstakingly drawn with a ruler contained little blurbs about him, such as his horoscope, favorite foods, greatest accomplishment, and interests. He liked the clichéd long walks on the beach, by the way...in case you were curious ;)

What got me was the photo of himself he'd attached. I saw that, and I was suddenly a freshman in high school again, giddy and feeling my insides get all squishy at the very sight of him. Here was the boy I fell in love with, who stole my heart and has held onto it after all of these years.

He's not that boy anymore, and I'm not that girl. We're man and woman, husband and wife. We've changed and grown immensely, we've built a life and a family.

Does he still make me feel the way he did back then? Absolutely. But, I love him in a different way than I did then. I love him more. It's just...there is nothing like the feeling of first love.

I am so very, very ridiculously lucky (and thankful) to be still in love with --and married to-- mine.