The Perfect Love Letter

Dear M,

There’s no other way to say this, so I’ll go right ahead and speak what’s on my mind.

I love you. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve met and had the pleasure to befriend. My heart and soul belong to you and I can think of nothing and no one else.

I have thought about it long and hard, and I know now that I cannot live without you. I know you don’t know much about me; I promise to come clean about every aspect of my past so you’ll know that there are no skeletons in my closet.

You should know that I am a man of my word. I swear I will provide you with the best that life has to offer. I will be a good husband, if only you give me the opportunity to prove myself.

All my love,

D

Dear D,

Yes, there is another way to say it, a way that is more practical and less passionate, for in a marriage, there soon comes a time when passion disappears, and if you’re not practical, the relationship falls to pieces.

So don't say you love me, say you’ll always understand me, even when I seem irrational and immature.

Don’t praise the beauty that you see on the outside, accept the ugliness that lies inside, because I’m not perfect.

Don’t give me your heart and soul, give me your support when I need a shoulder to lean on and your forgiveness when I make a mistake.

Don’t think only of me, think instead of us, of how we can make the marriage work, because relationships are two-way streets where you have to give way if you want to move ahead.

Don't say you cannot live without me, say you can live with me through thick and thin.

Don’t come clean about your past, assure me you will maintain cleanliness in the future and pick up after yourself; I’m not interested in the skeletons in your closet, just the tidiness of the paraphernalia in it.

Don't promise me the best in life, promise to try and make the best of all that comes our way, good or bad.

Don't be a man of your word, be a man who is not afraid to eat his words when he is wrong and tender an apology.

Don’t pledge to be a good husband, swear that you will be a good friend for life, someone who knows me through and through and loves me just the same.

BTW, if you’ve given all your love to me, does that mean you have nothing left over for the children we’re going to have? :-)

M

Strength

She’s the strongest person I know, and no, she’s not a wrestler or a bodybuilder or even a heavyweight.

Yet she’s strong enough to hold her tongue in the face of arguments and fights and prevent it from speaking harsh and hurtful words, even though they deserve to be said.

She’s strong enough to rein in temptation even when it tugs at her and begs her to go astray.

She’s strong enough to push down her anger, jealousy and envy even as they bubble up righteously.

She’s strong enough to control her thoughts when they cross the grey lines between good and bad.

She’s strong enough to love unconditionally without expecting anything in return.

She’s strong enough hold back tears even though they long to be released, because to spill them would mean to cause hurt to those who love her.

She’s strong enough to let go, when all she wants is to hold on for dear life.

She weighs nothing, yet she’s the heaviest burden I bear; for I carry her around all the time, everywhere, as a figment of my imagination.

She’s the kind of person I hope to be, yet know will never become!