I Finally Found...

...the Love of a Lifetime."  :)  Cheesy 80's rock ballad aside...it's the truth.  On January 15th of this year, I married the most wonderful woman in the world!  We danced to "Destiny," by Jim Brickman, and in the time leading up to our marriage, we made CDs and dedicated countless songs to each other.  Until now, however, I had yet write about it.  Three weeks into marriage, and I found myself struggling to put into words, into music, exactly the way I was feeling.  That changed yesterday.  While sitting in one of my many contemplative moods, the song, "Love of a Lifetime," by Firehouse, started playing in my mind...and it hit me.

"I guess the time was right for us to say
We'd take our time and live our lives together day by day..."

That first line says it all.  Heidi and I dated in high school, during my senior year...and 15 years later, she came back into my life.  And, as the song says, "the time was right for us..." to be reunited, fall in love, and decide to spend the rest of our lives together.

"We'll make a wish and send it on a prayer
We know our dreams can all come true with love that we can share..."

This one seems to require little explanation.  After years of being alone, suddenly all my prayers were answered...and when Heidi and I exchanged our vows, we did so knowing that together, we can make our dreams come true.  Marrying her checks one dream off of the list; I look forward to many, many others.

"With you I never wonder - will you be there for me
With you I never wonder - you're the right one for me..."

Throughout my life, people always told me, "someday, you'll find the right girl."  I never understood that.  How do you know who the right girl is?  How do you know when you've met the person with whom you'll spend the rest of your life?  The old cliche, "you'll just know..." applies here.  After an initial bout with nerves, I found that I did "just know."  I didn't have to think about it, or analyze it (as was common for me in the past), or think about whether I had other options.  I "just knew."  From that moment until now, and for the rest of my life, I'll continue "just knowing" that she is the right girl for me.  No wondering.  Only certainty.

Verse two describes the love...

"With every kiss our love is like brand-new
And every star up in the sky was made for me and you
Still we both know that the road is long
(But) we know that we will be together because our love is strong..."

I realize that we've only been married for a few weeks, but our friendship goes back much farther.  As such, this isn't merely me being in the blissful early stages of marriage.  "Every kiss...every star up in the sky..." points out to me the endless possibilities that lay before us.  We've known each other for a long time, yet everyday, I discover something new about her, about us, that does make our love seem like brand-new.  It's not going to be easy...as the song says.  Already, we know there are mountains we have climb in order to achieve some of our dreams, but we're willing to climb them together.  With that in mind, I know this is forever.

And the chorus...

"I finally found the love of a lifetime
A love to last my whole life through
I finally found the love of a lifetime
Forever in my heart, I finally found the love of a lifetime."

I love you, Heidi, with all my heart and soul!

(...even more than pizza rolls...)

;)

Outside the reception hall

Our first dance - to "Destiny"