The Last 4 Years...

4 1/2 Years ago, he was obnoxious.
4 1/2 years ago, I couldn't decide whether I liked him or hated him.
4 years ago, I was inexplicably drawn in by something about him.
4 years ago, I decided that even though he was obnoxious, I liked him.
4 years ago, he decided to randomly call me one night, and the night after.
4 years ago, we officially became a couple.
3 3/4 years ago, I fell in love.
3 1/2 years ago, pretty much everyone thought we were glued together- some thought it was cute, others, juvenile.
3 years ago, he graduated from high school and started college.
2 years ago, I graduated from high school and started college.
22 months ago, he asked me to marry him. I happily accepted.
13 months ago, we got our first apartment and started living together.
7 months ago, I got really sick. I got so sick I lost a big part of my memory, I was scared all the time, and I felt like I was going crazy. He was still there.
6 months ago, I started to feel better, but we had to move in with my parents. He was still there.
3 months ago, I screwed up majorly and significantly hurt our relationship. He stayed anyway.

3 days ago, we celebrated our 4 year anniversary. We're happy, honestly and truly happy. No lies, no deception, no false pretenses, no fine print. We're a happy couple. We have friends, we have family, we have each other. We're getting back on track to having a life again.
3 days ago, I realized, for the millionth time, just how amazingly lucky I am to have this man in my life.
3 days ago, I tried on a wedding dress for the very first time, with my best friend standing by my side, and I felt every bit as beautiful as he tells me I am.
3 days ago, I realized that nothing can ever measure up to love. Of all the possible emotions, nothing can ever envelop a person like love. Anger and hate burn and consume, sadness overwhelms, happiness explodes, but love... love pervades everything. Love manages to fill every crack and crevice. Love can replace other emotions, but nothing can ever replace love.

Tonight, I lay in bed, unable to sleep. I lay next to this wonderful man, snoring lightly beside me, too exhausted from a day's worth of work to care that I'm typing 2 feet from his face, and I write these things, to try, even for an instant, to capture the essence of what I feel in this moment.
Tonight, I look at the man I love, and I do not care whether I wear the dress I tried on 3 days ago. I do not care that we have had our trials and rough spots to work through. I do not care that I lost a part of my life. I do not care that we live with my parents. I do not care that some of my friends don't understand. I do not care about what people said about us in high school. I do not care that I once thought he was obnoxious. I do not care about anything other than this moment, and in this moment, I love the man lying next to me. I love him with every part of me, and there is nothing that can take away from that feeling.

4 years ago, I never thought I would find the right guy. 4 years ago, I thought high-school romances were doomed for failure. 4 years ago, I never would have thought that I'd be one of those people to settle down and get married before turning 25. 4 years ago, I didn't believe in true love.
4 years ago, I never thought that things would turn out the way they have.

But Tonight, I am completely happy to be here, in this moment, with my life as-is... so long as he is beside me, and I know now that he always will be.