I’m Still In Love With My High School Sweetheart
It was you when we first met, two ripe teens learning one another. I relished every moment together, every conversation. Each exchange was memorized verbatim and replayed in my mind countless times. When we talked into the early morning, you never hung up first. Do you remember how I would fall asleep on the phone? You swore I didn’t snore, but I’m pretty sure I did. When texting was a game, my heart leapt each time your name popped up on my screen. I started listening to the music you liked, trying to memorize the lyrics. I still think of us when I hear those songs.
It was you when we first kissed in my parent’s yard – in front of the house I grew up in. I was so nervous! But it was great – I should have known it would be. We laid out on warm summer nights, looking at the stars and talking about our favorites, our fears, our firsts. You told me about your family and I told you about mine. I could feel myself falling in love with you, and wanted to become etched in your tale.
It was you when we went to college and took on the new obstacles. We weren’t together a lot of that time, but we were determined to see it survive. We watched our friends pass from partner to partner, we built our own groups of friends, we fought. Through it all, we made our bond a priority. We communicated often and religiously. We fueled our relationship with love and kept it afloat – if sometimes only barely – and carried it safely ashore.
It was you speaking calmly and rationally as I screamed and cried. When I was stressed out of my mind, deciding what to do with my life, you brought me back to placidity. When I ranted about my girlfriend being a bitch, you helped me to chill. When I complained about my job, you encouraged me to look for something better, more satisfying. I appreciate you putting up with me more than I can say. Thank you, also, for always wanting the best for me.
It was you last night when I needed an embrace after a long day at work. Years after our first encounter, after our first kiss even, I still love you so unbelievably much. You’ve accepted my flaws – and God are there a lot – and you continue to love me everyday. You showed me how to accept, how to trust, what it’s like to love and be loved. You’re unfaltering and steadfast and completely amazing.
It’s you who has become an irreplaceable piece of my life story – having been with me a large percentage of my existence. People may say we’re boring, that we should have been with other people. They don’t understand. They don’t understand that what we have it real and true. We don’t need to fix what’s not broken. We’ve found the greenest side of the hill, and we have what some people search for their entire lives. They don’t understand that I’ve loved you for a lot of years, and I plan on loving you for many, many more. They don’t – they can’t understand – that you always have and always will feel like home to me.