From: Dave Rhodes, Palm Springs, California
To: Dorian Rhodes, Palm Springs, California

To my beloved wife, Dorian, on the occasion of our 16th anniversary…

As Pastor John Cowan softly closed his leather bound book with a smile, he looked at us and said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife”. A little twinkle in his eye betrayed his delight as he turned his attention to me and continued with, “You may now kiss the bride”. I lifted her veil and did so, right there in front of the author of the little leather bound book and everyone else in the room, including my mom, Mary Ann Kelly. Life had hardened her a bit by then but not enough that she couldn’t shed a few tears in disbelief that there was actually a woman on this earth who proved crazy enough to claim me as her own.

There were many other witnesses in the little mountain chapel that day – some that we could see and a lot that we could not. In the pews hewn of pine there sat her mom, Phyllis, and her maternal grandparents, Don and Peg. On the other side a few of my cousins watched and behind them were some longtime friends of mine. Friends of hers took up the rear on the other side, and eventually they all became friends of ours. Family from either side sat here and there and in the ether there stood the friends and family that we had invited with a prayer – her uncle Ted, my Dad, her uncle Robert whom she had never known because he was lost to a war of long ago, and others who stood unseen, but we could feel their love and approval of that day.

Nobody but the author of the little leather bound book knew for certain where we would be in sixteen years, but we hoped, and that hope held us together, along with contentment and most important of all, love for one another. On that day sixteen years ago I took Pastor John’s suggestion to heart and lifted the veil to kiss the one who I knew that I couldn’t live without, and she kissed me and the room full of the seen and the unseen approved and hoped right along with us.

Over the years we have seen changes that have challenged that hope. My mom has gone on to join the world of the unseen. Certain friends have drifted from our life together and are writing their own futures without us. We have been destitute and blessed, sometimes within months of either one. Sickness has at times battered us and depression has tried to make us widows. But through it all, one has had the other to count on, to offer support, and to lift up and cherish. One has had the other to love, and that love has made it all worth living.

Happy 16th anniversary, my dearest.

Dave & Dorian Rhodes

Palm Springs, California

Now 17 years married and still going strong!

From: Daniella Higgins, 16, Thanet, UK
To: Daniel, 21, Bath, UK

I know you will probably never read this, but I’ll write this anyway.
When I first got together with you the amount of criticisms I receved was exceptionally great. The distance between us and the age difference being huge factors; But I ignored them and stayed with you, and I am very glad I did.

You truly have shown me that there are decent people in the world. You are funny, kind, and you listen to me when no-one else will. And when you tell me that I am beautiful, it makes my soul jump alive with a life it has never possesed before. I don’t think you know how much all those comments mean to me, because ever since I can remember I have been trampled into the ground and undermined…until I met you.

Even our names, we determined that such a match had to be fate. We have to have different nicknames as to not get confused!
When you slowly crack that trademark grin of yours when I’ve told you a joke or made you laugh I can’t help but smile along and feel that nothing can touch what we have.

And I miss your warm comforting embrace and your comforting voice…and your kisses.
I wonder if you feel the same.
At one point we had a very rough point which resulted in a split which lasted around two months; I have never cried so much in my life. To lose what was most precious to me and what kept me sane was torture…you truly don’t appreciate love and what you have until you’ve been burned.

But you reconsidered and asked me for a second chance; I was overjoyed and said yes. It turned out you had kept everything to do with me that you had, including my picture in your wallet. My chest was about to burst with happiness and emotion.

Since then we appreciate what we have a lot more and we respect that we are both not perfect. But I’m here to tell you now that I am ready to put up with those differences and get through them with you, even if we are miles apart. And we are truly blessed not just to be close lovers but also be fantastic friends who help each other out and make each other laugh. And every moment I spend with you is a treasured one.

I love you, Daniel. With all my heart.

And here’s to us.

From: Mary, Detroit, Michigan, USA
To: Keith, Detroit, Michigan, USA

or “This Weekend’s Love Song” (Live)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCO8KkkmdIE]

From: Krystin, 28, Portland, OR
To: Eric, 29, Portland, OR

I remember the day we met like it was yesterday, the day I was sent in to wake a sleeping boy in a borrowed bed. I had just turned 20, still clinging to an idealistic dream of love, and you had a sweetness about you that confirmed this ideal was somehow tangible.

You shared my love for The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, and you smelled like fresh cut carrots. You were perfect.

A whirlwind love affair and a few days later, you returned home Idaho. I felt like a piece of me went with you, and yet I barely knew you. You haunted my dreams and brought fever to my rainy days. I eyed your address with suspicion, and put my heart on paper. That’s when my crusade began to make you realize you couldn’t live without me.

For the next two years we lives separate lives in separate towns, but the letters and mixed tapes seemed to fill the temporary void. Time away from school was spent in your arms, and time in school was made up of minutes without you. An entire summer filled with the Sawtooth Mountain views and hot spring baths derived from the Salmon River made Senior year in Eugene…miles away from you…almost unbearable.

When I graduated, you finally made the move. We fashioned a home out of a first floor apartment we shared with squirrels who stole fruit from our tables. We went on dates, allowed strange musicians to crash on our floor, and felt our way through this new thing called an adult relationship.

Next came Portland. You held me when my mom had cancer, and continued to hold me when you yourself was diagnosed. The whole experience cast a new color on our lives, and despite the pain and fear, everything became a bit brighter and so much more important. We grew to appreciate each other on another level, and found a deeper trust.

When we finally married the day after we met, six years later…we were already married. It was a formality, a show to make our family members more comfortable with something that had actually occurred years ago when we exchanged vows in a tiny bathroom in NE Portland.

As each day follows, my love for you continues to grow. It’s an endless wonder, a bottomless pit that could be carved through this world and into another. I can’t wait for the day that our family grows beyond the you and me of it all, and our incredibly precious children grow up to marvel at how much two people can truly love each other.

Krystin

From: Sara, 22, Ontario, Canada
To: Will, 22, Ontario, Canada

Young lovers we were
But forever connected we will be
No matter how far
You are with me always

Sara