It's just about eight years since I walked into a cappella group practice and you had just gotten back from a work trip in Japan, the first time I ever met you,
Seven years since we decided it was worth taking a chance on each other,
Six years since you met my entire family at once, five and a half years since I met yours,
Five years since we had that anniversary date in some backwoods barely-town in North Carolina under a sky full of stars and it started to feel like maybe, just maybe this was something that might be permanent,
Four years since we got degrees of varying sorts and they took us across the country from each other, but we decided to keep going anyway (and it was a great excuse for a tour of America's giant holes),
Just under three years since we at least moved you back into my time zone,
Two years since just about everyone in our lives had begun asking me if we were ever going to get married,
A year and a half since you convinced me to "go on a walk" with you on the ice dunes of Lake Huron outside Lawrence's family beach house and all our friends (except Denis, poor Denis) gathered around the window because they knew what was going on before I did, and I had a terrible cold and we spent most of the day in airports but it was still such a wonderful day...
A year since we started planning this for real,
A month since we finally moved into the same place,
And twenty-four hours until we DO THIS THING.
(finally)
(for real, it's about time)
It has been a long, strange journey. I'm really, really glad I get to be on it with you.