Forever

She said it took me forever.

It did. I was shy and awkward. She was not just some girl, but who I thought could be the girl. I was scared to ask, so I did the only thing I knew how to do – one of those decisions with eternal consequences – I wrote her a silly note asking if she would go steady with me. She marked it “maybe” and then waited and waited and waited some more. She waited for what must have felt like forever.

I didn’t want to be too forward, so I took my time, I waited. I still did not have the courage, but I thought it’s been long enough I better do something. I wrote her another silly note, this time asking if she wanted to go to the same place at the same time sometime. She wrote back what place, what time? And then she waited and waited and waited some more. She waited for forever.

Finally, mercifully, I wrote in her day planner date with Joseph. The day arrived and we had our first date. It was memorable, we went out to eat with friends and then to a movie. Simple enough, but when we came out to the car, to my horror, our friends had decorated it with “just married” on the back window. A memory that has lasted forever.

One date became many until 20 years ago today, we took our love to the Temple of the Lord. The beginning of our eternal family, sealed together, forever.

She said it took me forever.

It did, but only because that was exactly what I was after: forever.

Happy Anniversary!

20 years down and forever to go.