Current mood:

pensive

I perfected the clever overuse of analogy by listening to my father's lectures.

^{edited from a photograph by dan heller}

Aaron and I have been dating for ten years now and through the ups and downs and in-betweens, truly the most trying times have been the past months we've been engaged. Some people view engagement as a plateau: a resting place after the chase, the climb and rappelling of dating. But really, it's been a steep, nearly 90 degree incline where the crag is slippery and footing is most unsure. It's the *real* test...when you're slowly climbing, watching your single life disappear further and further away below you, almost obscured by the mist, but you can't see married life because you're not yet past the clouds. It's the foggiest of times and you're hanging onto one another for dear life, unable to clearly see the past or the future and you're absolutely sure you're going to plummet to your death before you even make it to the altar.

One would think that being in each other's lives in a major way for a decade would have us fairly prepared for the next logical step of committing ourselves to one another for all eternity. But in the past few months, I've learned more about forgiveness and pride, self-sacrifice and self-preservation, love and what love is worth than I've ever known. We are, for the first time, not pretending...not trying to impress the other person...being real...and realizing that it's possible to be so vulnerable that you let down all your walls and stop being scared of losing yourself.

Because with the right person, you won't lose yourself, you'll gain someone else.
Can't wait to see the view when we finally get to the next ledge.

{http://www.eight8eight.org}