Dear Jennifer,

Today is the day that we are married.

Do you remember over a year ago when we sat down in Borders in Davis with our calendars and your Palm Pilot and tried to pin down this date? We had to worry about the fact that half of my family has birthdays during this time of year, close friends of ours have wedding anniversaries, and so on. But we wanted to do it at this time of year — I don’t remember why.

And I remember how I proposed to you: by making it a hypothetical at first, asking, "If I were to propose to you, what would you say to me?" It was late at night, we’d been dating for just three weeks, and we’d spent the entire day together — as usual. I’d made my mind up that morning that I wanted to marry you, and I’d spent the entire day trying to figure out how to ask you. In the end, of course, I took the wimpy way out. But you still yes.

We joke with each other and with our families and friends about the reasons why we’re getting married. "Our friend dared me to marry her." "I lost a bet." "I drew the short straw." "I felt sorry for him." And so on. Of course, we both know that the reason I asked you was because I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone, and I knew that I wanted to spend my life with you.

I thought I knew you a year ago. Since then, we’ve been through a lot together: job crises, job changes, house building, various family issues, friend issues, sick cats, late night emergency room visits, far too much traveling. I’ve seen you in good moods and bad, laughing and crying, happy and angry. Out of everyone I know, you’re the only one who can send me a single word on Instant Messenger and make me spew coffee all over my keyboard at work (people at work know by now that random laughter from my cubicle usually means that I’ve just gotten another e-mail or another Instant Message from you and they no longer question it). You’re the only one I know who can smile at me and make me know that whatever stupid thing I’ve done is forgiven. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted to marry, that I’ve ever wanted to spend the rest of my days with.

So many times over the past year I’ve held you close at night or sat next to you in the car, or laughed at a joke you said. So many times I’ve looked over at you while you slept and sat the light of the streetlamp outside our window shine down on your face and thought how beautiful you are.

Every relationship has problems. Every marriage has its good years and its bad. All I can do for you at this moment is repeat the promise I made during the ceremony: that I will be faithful to you all of our lives, that I will love you with all my heart and all my soul, and that I will hold you close to my heart forever.

Richard