And the smile. The smile that lit up the room. Almost before I started dating Faramir, this song would pop into my head every time I saw him smile. I remember once being at the top of the stairway that led down to the Orchestra rehearsal room and seeing him smile up at me and being caught in the smile.

And so I married him.

(Yes, there is a whole 9 months of saga here I'm ignoring for the sake of your mental health.)

I married that smile.

And it has come to mean so much more to me than it did when I first met him. It was and still is the smile of someone who loves God. It's now the smile that makes me laugh so hard I cry. It's the smile that I love to see when he has made me laugh so hard because he loves doing it. It's the smile that loves my children so much it hurts. The smile that shows me every emotion of the man I love. The smile that sometimes laughs at my absolute idiocy making me able to laugh at myself, and the smile that loves hiding surprises from me.

There are times when that smile has been lost from me. Marriage is not always easy. But it has always come back. And I am warmed by his love.

And the song now makes me cry. Every time we struggle, I think of this song, because-as cheesy as it is-as long as he's smiling at me, I can face the world.

It's been 13 years now. 13 long, fast, hard, fun, joyful, sorrowful, entertaining, struggling, sad, happy, hectic, crazy, short fabulous years.

I'm not going to say I've loved every minute of it, because I haven't. I don't think anyone loves every minute of their life. But when the moments of memory come rolling in, the pain and the struggles fade to the background and I am reminded again and again why I married this man.



Happy Anniversary to us.