She had this vein

It started at her hairline, directly dead center... the mid point of her temples.

It traveled the length of her forehead and disappeared somewhere amongst where she furrowed her brow when I would say something stupid.

So essentially this occurred daily.

This vein, if you've ever been fortunate enough to see it, only appears when she is laughing from her stomach.

It's my favorite laugh.

There's a small pause after something I've said and then this roar comes out of this very small frame and there's the vein.

She has probably never noticed that my eyes always move up from her immense smile to directly in between her eyes, but ascending slightly every time.

I look for the vein every time she laughs.

They say you only love once.

That you truly only fall in love with someone once in a lifetime.

And if you had asked me a year ago today... if you had asked me three months ago, if this were true, I'd say yes.

I'd say that you can love a million souls.

You can love a million sets of eyes.

A million hands.

A million moments.

A million inhales.

A million exhales.

You can love every breath another person takes and still, you only truly fall in love once.

Three months ago, I would have said that.

Last year, I would have said that.

But there's this vein.

And whenever I see it, it is prefaced by this enormous roar of laughter, that comes from such a tiny frame.

And in that moment, when her smile is as big as her heart and her face becomes flushed as she can barely speak from laughing so hard...

That's when I realize...

You can love a million people.

But when you find the heart to fall in love with someone, you devote the rest of your days to finding the same vein.