This is not a normal blog post, and I suppose it has nothing to do with JTBD, but it has everything to do with the one person I could not imagine going through this without. I decided to do my cliche birthday message to Nick this year on the blog for a couple of reasons. One, I want to look back years from now at this birthday and realize it is quite possibly the last birthday we will spend as just Nick and Amanda. Two, I want to remember this. I want to look back at the way I loved him and admire how much our love will have grown. Finally, I want you all to see him in my eyes, to understand why I am eternally grateful to have been blessed with finding him.
There is a quote I learned in high school that will forever stick with me,
“According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms,
four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into
two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their
other halves.”
― Plato, The Symposium
I have found it. I was sent to a party at 18 and found my other half. I look back at the years we have spent together thus far and I am in complete awe of how much we have grown, together. Sure, at 18 you are an adult, maybe. You might be paying bills, moving out, you may not be a kid anymore. But I truly believe I grew with Nick. I was a child when I met him and I looked into his eyes and saw all of the potentials this life could bring us.
Nick,
This is our 7th birthday together, I have been there to watch you grow into this amazing man who will be an even more amazing daddy. From being there when you got your license, to watching you embark on the adventure of a lifetime and becoming a Marine. I was there. I was proud. I loved you then and I love you now. I never imagined this would be where life would take us, that we would work this hard and be this happy. You have taught me so many more things than I think you know. I have learned to love myself, to love life, to love the hard parts of life. I find strength and motivation in the way your soul clings to things. The way you put every ounce of you into everything you do.
Happy Birthday, my handsome man, you are and always have been everything I never knew I needed.
I love, love, love you sigh sigh forever and ever. I pinky promise swear.
xoxo, ALD