Simple

Sometimes it's the simplest phrases that pack the most punch ...

"Great job, honey. I am so proud of you."

Overheard

At a party recently, James was chatting with a guy he grew up with and has been close with for years. He didn't realize I was just around the corner talking to a group of girls and could hear his conversation quite clearly. His friend mentioned that he hadn't seen James this happy in years and asked if I was the reason for the spring in his step. James' response, quite honestly, still brings tears to my eyes:

"Dude, she's the one. I said I'd never get married again but ... there's not a doubt in my mind that she will be my wife some day. I'm gonna marry that girl. She's my best friend."

Trifecta

After I told him a particularly raunchy joke:

"I love that about you. I love that I can leave you alone with my Mom and Grandma and hours later they'll go on and on about how sweet and charming you are. But even more than that? I love that I can leave you alone with half a dozen of my friends and hours later they'll go on and on about how funny and crass you are. Smart, funny, and hot? It's the dream."

Fairy Tale

"You're gorgeous - and not just regular gorgeous! No, you're like princess gorgeous."

Who I Am

"You are my princess. No, you're my queen. I wake up every day and can't believe you're mine - all I wanna do is see you smile. I just want to make you happy." 

Love Lift Me

Due to my back problems, I experience frequent weakness in my right leg - sometimes to the point where I can't walk without holding on to someone ...

"When you're weak, I will carry you."

As Long As We're Together

If one of us had to re-locate for some reason:

"I'd follow you around the world; baby, I'd follow you anywhere."

He's Got My Back

I've been off work for the past 4 months due to back pain that, as of yesterday, could end up requiring major surgery. Scared of the strain my lengthy recovery could put on our relationship, I tearfully advised James that there have been studies done on couples going through similar hardships and that a considerable number of them ended up splitting.

Smiling, he gently pushed my hair out of my face and wiped away the steady stream of tears that had been falling since it occurred to me that I could lose him. His smile faded as he took my face in his hands, kissed my forehead and confidently stated ...

"They've never studied us. I will never leave your side - I will always love you."

Getting The Ball Rolling

"You are my muse - you're the kind of woman that men write songs about."

A Champion

On February 27, 2012, I sat down and wrote the following:

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Until very recently, I have been undeniably unlucky in love. Never one to heed a warning or acknowledge an obvious sign, I habitually walked heart-first into disastrous relationships that left me huddled and broken, vowing to know better next time. The most recent disaster broke me down from the inside out and left me terrified of ever feeling anything ever again.

And then there was James.

I'm completely without words when I try to articulate what and who he is. Suffice to say, he's the game-changer. The first time we met, I genuinely felt the atmosphere around me shift. I physically felt my body relax and I felt like, for the first time in months, I could breathe again. He calmed me and put me at ease - the affect he had on me was instant and tangible.

Since that moment, not a day has gone by that I haven't felt completely, overwhelmingly lucky to have him in my life and by my side. A partner in the truest sense, he makes me feel like all the rambling, emotional, manic parts of myself have found a safe-house in him. He is a truth that I had no idea how to recognize and he is the love I was sure I would never find.

Though I feel I fall embarrassingly short of the kind of woman he deserves, he believes me to be everything I lack. When I fail him, he shows me the kind of grace I feel incapable of showing others. When I punish him for the deeds of those who knew my heart before him, he recognizes my fears and insecurities and reminds me (yet again) that he is not them.

In the past, I've loved liars, abusers, addicts, thieves, con-men, and criminals. But today, I love a man who proves them all to be boys who were incapable of loving me back.

Every fiber of my being reaches for him despite time or proximity - and I find him, without fail, at the center of all that is good and beautiful in my heart.

For the first time, I'm in love with a good man.

For the first time, I'm in love with a champion.

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These words are as true today as they were then - truer, even. So, after spending the last 10 months trying to commit all of my beloved's sweet and funny one-liners to memory, I decided to start this blog to preserve the moments in our relationship that my sieve-like memory is likely to lose track of. In the same vein as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, there's an endless list of ways that I love my partner and I welcome you to join me as I endeavour to count them.