My happily ever after is not like you read in the fairytales. It wasn't love at first sight or constant butterflies; our love took years to develop and did so through good times and bad times.

I met my husband when I was fourteen years old as a freshman in high school. I had a bad attitude and thought that I knew all there was to know about the world. I gave my heart away to boys who didn't matter and allowed myself to get so badly broken that I hated myself. My husband was the kind of boy I never thought I would be with. He was your typical teenage boy; careless, rude, and immature. Our friendship blossomed between mutual friends, marching band and the bus rides and classes that neither of us really cared about. Over the course of those three years in school together, he became one of my most trusted friends despite the fact that he dated (and stopped dating) three of my friends.

I remember the summer he left for boot camp and thinking that it would be the last I would see or hear from him but that wasn't the case. You were there for me my senior year, which was by far one of the most difficult years for me. You listened to me, comforted me and allowed me to just be your friend. When I graduated, we drifted apart. You were now part of the Texas National Guard and I was a high school graduate in a relationship that was slowly eating away at everything that made me who I am.

In 2011 you came back into my life. First through Facebook, casual conversations here and there until they began to become more frequent. You surprised me one day at work and stood around talking to me for an hour which I later found out that the "surprise" meeting me at work had actually been planned out. I gave you my phone number because you told me you were getting a cell phone again soon, which I also found out was only because you wanted to spend your time talking to me. For the next few weeks we texted constantly. You asked me out, I said yes but at the last minute other plans came up that I couldn't get out of. To this day you tell people that I did it on purpose. The day I told you how I felt is a day I will never forget. It was a Sunday morning around 9 AM and I was bowling like I did every Sunday with my best friend and her husband. You were up bright and early so that you could talk to me and every time you messaged me, the smile on my face doubled in size. My best friend's husband asked me about you and when I told them they both urged me to tell you how I felt and so I did. I was terrified that we would fail as a couple and that I would lose one of my closest friends. You told me that we were worth a shot and that we would take things slow so instead of going on a typical date, I met you at your parents house and we watched TV and sat around talking about everything and nothing for hours.

I kissed you first. You said that you loved me first and now we are in this together for the rest of time.

My happily ever after is not like you read in the fairytales. It wasn't love at first sight or constant butterflies; our love took years to develop and did so through good times and bad times.

I met my husband when I was fourteen years old as a freshman in high school. I had a bad attitude and thought that I knew all there was to know about the world. I gave my heart away to boys who didn't matter and allowed myself to get so badly broken that I hated myself. My husband was the kind of boy I never thought I would be with. He was your typical teenage boy; careless, rude, and immature. Our friendship blossomed between mutual friends, marching band and the bus rides and classes that neither of us really cared about. Over the course of those three years in school together, he became one of my most trusted friends despite the fact that he dated (and stopped dating) three of my friends.

I remember the summer he left for boot camp and thinking that it would be the last I would see or hear from him but that wasn't the case. You were there for me my senior year, which was by far one of the most difficult years for me. You listened to me, comforted me and allowed me to just be your friend. When I graduated, we drifted apart. You were now part of the Texas National Guard and I was a high school graduate in a relationship that was slowly eating away at everything that made me who I am.

In 2011 you came back into my life. First through Facebook, casual conversations here and there until they began to become more frequent. You surprised me one day at work and stood around talking to me for an hour which I later found out that the "surprise" meeting me at work had actually been planned out. I gave you my phone number because you told me you were getting a cell phone again soon, which I also found out was only because you wanted to spend your time talking to me. For the next few weeks we texted constantly. You asked me out, I said yes but at the last minute other plans came up that I couldn't get out of. To this day you tell people that I did it on purpose. The day I told you how I felt is a day I will never forget. It was a Sunday morning around 9 AM and I was bowling like I did every Sunday with my best friend and her husband. You were up bright and early so that you could talk to me and every time you messaged me, the smile on my face doubled in size. My best friend's husband asked me about you and when I told them they both urged me to tell you how I felt and so I did. I was terrified that we would fail as a couple and that I would lose one of my closest friends. You told me that we were worth a shot and that we would take things slow so instead of going on a typical date, I met you at your parents house and we watched TV and sat around talking about everything and nothing for hours.

I kissed you first. You said that you loved me first and now we are in this together for the rest of time.