The Wedding Vows

I was touched by the vows that our nephew and his new wife shared with each other this weekend. Of course as I mentioned to you it made me a bit sad that you and I never had the opportunity to do the same for each other. I know that in lieu of the vent we got the gift of our first daughter, but as always I feel like you deserve everything and more.

So I thought I would share with you the vows I would have shared nearly 20 years ago. This won't replace the vows i will share with you on our 20th anniversary, but rather a type of traveling back in time set of vows. Think of me as 22 years old and you as a young (and extremely beautiful) 19 year old bride.

Here goes. It won't be our nephew's 4 sentences or his wife's perfectly crafted statement, it will sound a lot like me.

"I have never felt this way about anyone before. I have never looked at anyone the way I see you. No one has ever made me feel the way about myself that you make me feel. I stand here today a boy that has only the potential to become a man through you.

I don't think you know how afraid I was to ask you to share my life with me. There was no way in my mind that you would ever say "yes". Someone so beautiful, so smart and so sure of herself should want anything to do with me. Yet you do. You make me a better person. You make me feel loved. You make me feel like I can do anything.

I will spend the rest of our lives together trying to live up to what you deserve. I will be thankful everyday that you love me and never take for granted that you brought the first real love into my life.

I can't wait to start a family with you. You will be the perfect mother as well as the perfect wife. Our children will be so lucky to have you love them. I will tell them so because I too am lucky to have you love me.

So with great humility I start the rest of my life with you. Our lives together. I love you more than you will ever imagine. You saved my life."

That is pretty much how it would have gone. It is also pretty much how it had been so far. You did save my life. And in some way (although I didn't think it at the time) I kind of saved yours. We were made for each other. As much as you believe in fate, I believe that fate put us together. It was fate the made us find each other. It was love that has kept us together.

You made me the man I am today. You made me super-man.

I am as much in love with you today as I was nearly 20 years ago. I am as impressed with myself for convincing you to marry me now as I was then. I am invincible because of you.

I love you. It is as simple as that.