Tory and I have had one of those relationships you wouldn't be surprised to read about in some crazy novel, and long enough now (in one form or another) to span over half of our lives. We met when we were 14 years old at St. Paul's School in Baltimore. We were freshmen in high school and clueless at the time about the significance of that introduction.
Tory's step-sister and bestie Liz was a friend of mine in middle school, and she was shadowing Tory at St. Paul's that day. I was new to the school too, so it was exciting to have a friend there. We all met up at lunch in the shared (co-ed) cafeteria and Liz introduced Tory and me.
To make an otherwise long story fairly short, Tory and I ended up dating for the better part of high school and it'd be safe to say that we were high school sweethearts. Although, once college came around, we decided to go our separate ways and grow into our own people. Of course, this was for the best and eventually we came back together having grown up and experienced more of the world.
The one thing, though, that never completely faded between us was our friendship. Over the years that friendship evolved (as they do...), sometimes we were closer, sometimes more distant, but it was always there. Every time we would go a stretch without talking and then catch back up it felt like we had been talking the whole time; it felt like we hadn't skipped a beat. Eventually, this genuine friendship brought us back together.
Our friendship has been, and continues to be, the backbone of our relationship. Without that strong and deep connection, there is no doubt in my mind that we would not be where we are today. With already more than our share of trials under our collective belt, we've developed a relationship and a partnership in each other to face, and weather, any storm.
In my opinion, that's what marriage is really all about... saying, "this is the person I want to be my partner and with whom I want to live, enjoy, and (sometimes) face life... The good times, the bad, and everything in-between." Life isn't always easy, and it shouldn't always be, after all without tough times how would we be able to truly enjoy and appreciate the good times?
Tory is 100% that partner for me and I'm excited to make it "official," although for me, deep down I always knew she was the one… I'm just glad she said, "yes!"
Here's to you Tor, and to us, and to a lifetime of friendship, respect, support, and love.