Can you believe this day has come?

The photos erupt, and everyone that you know and love is congratulating you two on the future wedding, excitedly looking up plane tickets for the big day. I cannot help but be amazed at the man that you have become and the amazing woman that you have fallen in love with. I am also thrilled that you both chose each other, you two are a pairing that makes the rest of us believe for one tiny moment in happily ever after.

As I sit in my tiny little space in a classroom full of vibrant individuals, I reflect back on the journey that you and I have taken, collectively, sometimes separately. I think about the days when we were tiny high school students. As I stare at all of those defining pieces and stories, something unique emerges.

As Melissa Hawks once so lovely said, “This is my friend, my family. This is not the love story you were expecting, but it is a good, good story”

My dear old friend, perhaps we are the best kind of story, unexpected, full of vibrancy and life. We are not the great romance colored novel. We have not fallen in love, yet we are the greatest kind of love story.

Friendship

We are a story rooted in friendship. The weirdness of us- pink flip-flops and silk fedoras is probably what caught each other’s eye. We met in passing and bonded rapidly. We promised a lifetime if that is what we could give. I remember when we said the words “I promise to be your friend”. It was a covenant, and I truly believe there was something holy in that moment.

Teenage Crush

Let’s face it, we cannot tell our story without the adorable piece of our tiny teenage crush. We would have to erase the cute tiny things- the perfectly roasted marshmallows and exchange of letters. This part of our story is so small, but so vital. It was in these moments that we formed a deep affection for each other. One day it would become platonic, but during this time in our lives, it was endearing, teaching me what it was like to be young and in like.

Heartache

Unfortunately, we are flawed humans. Our imperfections and demons resulted in a mass amount of hurt for which I am sorry. This is no pretty or poetic way to talk about this time. I labeled you, judged and misspoke so very much. I was naive, and we caused each other immense amounts of pain. It felt so irreparable that I truly asked myself a few times if our friendship was so fractured that we would be unable to mend. This is the piece that brings a small twinge to my heart, yet it leads me to the most beautiful piece of our story.

Love

Pure, authentic love. No, this love is not fairy tale love or even the falling in love kind of love. It is the kind of love that bridges gaps, reaches out in dark times and finds light. Somehow, for reasons that God only knows, we mended. Out of our broken hearts came grace, kindness, and care. In the darkness, the tiny bit of light left in us drew close to each other in the dark. We emerged from personal hells and somehow found ourselves next to each other, as friends, bonded for a lifetime.

We are not the beautiful romantic story. We are not kisses in the rain and the white picket fence future. We are not meant to be married or destined to be lovers. Yet I still believe that we are a great love story, the broken finding grace, two hearts finding light in the darkness. Our story is one for the books, the one I will tell again and again, to strangers, to friends, to the kiddos that you will have and I will be the cool aunt with.

We are the one of the greatest kind of love stories, my friend, you and me.