Time Flies...

8 years ago, I pledged my eternal love and devotion to Luis E. Farias in the Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a warm, clear day and flowers were in full bloom everywhere I looked. I think of us then- two dumb kids who were willing to stare fate in the eye and make a go of the seemingly impossible. We were in love. So, so in love. The challenges ahead of us were already mounting- an instant step-family, a nagging ex, a cultural divide wider than any gaping earthly canyon, career pressure, time constraints, parental expectations- we didn't care. When you're young and in love, the mountains you have to climb together don't seem so unclimbable.
We still don't care, to be honest. A LOT has changed in the 8 years that we've been married, but all that really matters is that we're still so, so in love. My Luis really is the love of my life, come what may. He is the yang to my yin. He is the peanut butter to my jelly. He is the guitar solo on my A track. He has loved me through my not so beautiful moments, and my not so sweet moments. He has, despite my bum ovaries, made me a mother by sharing his son so selflessly with me. He has tenderly supported me whenever I needed him to help me just keep it together, which is pretty much every hour of every day.

You want to know a secret? I realized, recently, that we've been together for so long that I have trouble sifting out the parts of him which have drifted into me- mannerisms, words, accents, ideas. I knew when I married him that I would love him forever. I just didn't realize that 8 years later I would love him so much that he would actually become part of my identity. I didn't realize how much being married would change me, I hope for the better. But that's the way we love, I guess. Completely. I'm not kidding when I say that my heart beats for him, and for our little boy.
Thank you, Mr. Farias, for picking me. I still pick you. I will, in fact, love you para siempre.