Dear husband,

Remember in college, when you drove me all over campus because I didn’t have a car? I remember that it didn’t matter where I needed to go. Whether it was the grocery store or to class, if it were snowing or pouring, I knew you’d be there. I could text you whenever, and within minutes, I would look out my window and see your car there.

I knew I loved you then.

Remember our first date, where the conversation never stopped flowing? I had butterflies in my stomach the entire time, just from sheer happiness. My cheeks were throbbing from smiling so big. After you dropped me off that night, I remember calling my mom and telling her how it was the most fun I had had in such a long time.

I knew I loved you then.

Remember spending countless hours on the phone after we graduated, because we did long distance dating for a few months? I remember spending all day, counting down the hours until we could speak. It wasn’t easy but I knew that if we could make it through that, we could make it through anything.

I knew I loved you then.

Remember when you proposed to me, and you told me that there was no one you would rather be in the long haul with? I remember the tears welling up in my eyes, because I also felt that there was no one I would rather be in the long haul with.

I knew I loved you then.

Remember when we got married, and you told me it was the happiest day of your life? I remember, in that moment, that the level of love I felt for you couldn’t possibly be exceeded. I remember feeling like my heart was about to burst, like it had met its maximum capacity.

I knew I loved you then.

But, I was wrong about one thing.

You see, I knew I loved you after all of those moments, but I was wrong about the part where I felt like my love for you could never be exceeded by a single moment.

Because, then you became a father.

I remember when I gave birth to our first child, our son, and you cried the moment he entered the world. I remember watching you, as they stitched me up, and I had never seen such light in your eyes. You held him to your bare chest, and while I couldn’t hear what you were whispering to him, I knew in that moment, my love for you had been exceeded by a single moment.

The moment you became a father.

Watching you with him is like something out of a dream. I continue to see that same light in your eyes. It is like watching you answer destiny’s call with fervor and readiness. It’s so much love and beauty, all wrapped up into the two of you. Watching you with him solidifies my love for you over and over again.

So, while I knew I loved you then—

I love you now.

I love you tomorrow.

I love you for always.