Fifteen

Fifteen years ago tomorrow I lifted that veil, stared into those sky blue eyes, and said I do. It seems like it just happened and everything that has changed in our lives took place overnight. 

The old apartment off campus that was so cozy and hidden away. I remember snow days when we would sled through the hills nearby. Summers that would melt candles into pools of wax upstairs. The bedroom covered in stars that would glow in the dark all night. I remember the first time we saw them as we lay in bed staring up at the angled ceiling above us. 

Fifteen years of trying to stretch a dollar. Separate shifts, only seeing each other for an hour a day for weeks at a time. Working two jobs during Christmas. Holding on to every random moment together. I remember waiting in the parking lot until 11:00 at night for her to get off work. Watching through the grocery store window as she mopped the floors and checked out one last customer. 

Fifteen years of simply enjoying each others company. Working together to paint Adams room in green, yellow, white, and blue stripes. Picking pecans off the old tree beside the house. Deciding to have a child and then another. Fifteen years of love. 

Now we have kids, and cats, and a nice house. Friends and family that we cherish. A church that we depend on and a strong faith in God. We both have careers we love. We have been blessed with two fantastic boys that make us laugh everyday with their honesty and how they resemble their mom and dad in looks and the antics they are always getting into. Fifteen years and it feels like I got everything I ever wanted in the blink of an eye. 

Fifteen years and she still causes me to stop and catch my breath when she walks into a room. I love you Mandy Beck. Let's see how long we can go with out blinking.