From my heart to yours.

 I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.

- Jason Mraz

Planning a wedding...(parden my bluntness) sucks.

I'm sorry. But it does.

Whoever said registering was fun... lied.
Whoever said sending invites out was exciting... joked.
Whoever said fights end at engagement... has never been engaged.
And whoever said it wasn't that much work... has never worked a day in their life.

It is so hard. And exhausting. And completely overwhelming.

My to-do list is constant. Never-ending. And ever so daunting.
My stress levels are chronically sky rocketing.
My emotions are permanently fringed.

Yet, in the midst of it all... I still know it's right.

I am stressed.
Overwhelmed.
Often defeated.
And sometimes overcome.

But I am here. And still in love. So, so in love.

I've learned a lot about what I mean by that..

love.

It's taken on a whole new meaning the last 3 months of my life.

It might be different than yours. In fact, I wouldn't doubt that it is. But that's okay.

Because to me...

It's about commitment. Trust. Vulnerability. Understanding. It's about being able to hurt... and make it okay. It's about compassion. Selflessness. Devotion. It's about hard work, and determination.

But more than anything, it's about forgiveness.

And I know now more than ever, how much I truly love David Steven Jackson.

And how much he loves me.

You learn a lot about each other as you meet. You learn a lot about each other as you spend time together. You learn a lot about each other as you date. And you learn even more about each other when you get engaged.

But you truly come to know each other as you cross the sweet-waters of life. As you cling to one another because that's all you've got. As you commit, with all your heart, to be his, and him yours. No matter what storms hit. As you disagree, and then agree to change. As you trust each other more than anyone else. As you put the other first, because you want to. Because that's what matters. As everything around you comes crashing down..and you run for each other's arms. Not away. Becuase there you know it will be okay. When you decide to put your gloves down, and let the other in. When you let the small things go. Because they will never matter more than your relationship with each other.

And when you forgive not because you have to, but because you want to. Because you love them too much not to. 

That is love.

And with that, it doesn't matter what anyone sees. Or thinks. Or has.

Why?

Because chances are, it means something else to me than it does to you. Or to her. Or to him. Or to your family. Or to his. Or to those neighbors. Or those friends. 

Others might think you're crazy. They might judge you. They might not ever understand.

But the important thing is that you know. That I know.
And that no matter what happens, you never stop letting each other know.

That is what makes planning a wedding worth it.

That is why you register for gifts.
That is why you stuff the invitations.
That is why you buy the flowers.
That is why you set the tables.

That is why you fight. And then make up.
That is why you stress.
That is why you go through it all.

Because that kind of love is worth it. Learning, changing, regrouping, forgiving.. are all worth every bit of sacrifice they take.

They make you, you.
And me, me.

And they allow us...

...to continue on when the road gets tough.

What does love mean to you? Think about it.

From my heart to yours,
R