There Is No End to Love

It is hard to believe it has been more than ten years since my wedding day. That was a happy day for me. There is a page in one of my daughter's books that shows Cinderella looking at the palace from her window, dreaming of that "someday" when her prince would come. It reminds me of my first twenty years. Every time I saw the temple, I looked forward to going there someday to be married.

It was more wonderful and more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. The morning sunlight that flowed through the temple windows felt so warm, and it seemed to make everyone glow. The love of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and very dear friends surrounded us as we knelt across the altar from each other. We made promises to each other and promises to God. We listened as the sealer told of the blessings that would come because of that holy union. Then we kissed a simple kiss (our mothers were watching!), but it was a sweet kiss, and it was a special kiss because it was our first as husband and wife.

The more I know about the world, the more I realize how miraculous our innocence was. We each gave our first kiss to each other, and in a society where virginity is usually lost by teenagers, we still had ours at the ages of twenty and twenty-five, to be given to each other in marriage.

I still think of our first date with fondness. He was so shy. I was so immature. He was so handsome. I was so thin! We dated for two and a half years before we got married. Unfortunately, there were thorns with the roses. A lot of people thought we shouldn’t marry because we were so different from each other. Some said he was too good for me. Others said I was too good for him. I almost gave up, but losing him felt worse than losing favor with family and friends.

We promised each other before we were married that divorce would never be an option for us. We vowed we would never speak of it, not even in jest. Through the years, we have shared and loved, fought and cried. We have lost together, prayed together, laughed together, and dreamed together. And after years of longing, we had children together.

There were times I wondered if they had been right. Maybe I deserved someone who was more kind. I’m sure there were times when he wondered if he deserved someone more competent. Thankfully, we have both come to know that we deserve each other, and our children deserve parents who love each other unselfishly. So we try. Most of the time we succeed, and I pray it will be enough to carry us through the eternities.

I’ve spent a lot of time with him, but I still want more. I’ve thought of him more than anyone or anything else for almost half my life, but I still like to think about him more than anything else. I guess that’s how it is when you are family and you love each other. And it makes sense that it would be that way if we plan to be married forever, right?

I wrote a poem for him for our anniversary. He understands calculus, but not poetry. So it is a simple poem, but I think it says it all. I gave it to him with a picture of us on our wedding day.

They say we are as night and day

And they are right–

Yet I only long for you to stay

With me day and night.

They say we are as black and white

And I look back–

But all was right with me in white

And you in black.