Dear David,

July 5th is our day.

The anniversary of the day we met in 1997.

The anniversary of the day we married in 2002.

14 years to be in love.

9 of them married.

This year to celebrate, we, um...kind of didn't.

You helped some people move last minute, and I was feeling sick.

You brought me a mango smoothie and said, "we'll make it up tomorrow."

And then life kept going, really fast...and each day that passed

...passed.

More than once we've laughed about how un-celebratory we've been.

We say things like, "next year - for our 10 year/15 year - it's going to be big, we'll do it right!"

Or if we have a little time alone together, we smile knowingly and say,

"this is for our anniversary." :)

*sigh*

Life isn't easy.

Sometimes it's downright brutal.

But there is one thing, that even a midst trials I've never taken for granted.

That is, that our relationship is easy.

Meaning drama-free and love-full.

I say that with eyes wide open,

and a personal belief that it's not necessarily something we can take 100% credit for.

And so I see you as my perfect-for-me love,

the person I'd want with me on a deserted island,

and any other cliche-ish thing you want to add in here.

But mostly, I see you as a blessing.

Loving you, and feeling your love for me has always been,

a gift from above.

xoxo,

tara