From 2005:

I’m am SO exhausted.  Was up WAAAY too late last night.  B. and I were walking to the car at eleven and we were both like, “How old ARE we?”  It was midnight by the time my eyes finally closed.  And now I’m dragging.  I’m getting so old.

But it was a very nice evening. ::tee hee hee:: I got the best Valentine’s Day present EVER.  I know it’s not gonna sound cool to the rest of y’all.. but he got me a He-Man sword!!  Isn’t that awesome?!  It makes a “clash-clang-schwing” sound and it also says, “I have the power!!” just like He-Man! 

(You have to know me REALLY well to know why this is important to me.  Of course, I’m just going to tell you now.  When I was little, I wanted to be He-Man.  We have many hours of video of me as a child, and all of them have my trusty glow-in-the-dark sword and my shield by my side.  Then, when She-Ra came out, my parents tried to push me toward the more “feminine” figure, but I wasn’t hearing it.  I wanted to be He-Man.  And now, I can be.  I have the power, after all.)

From 2006:

I should say that I rarely look forward to Valentine’s Day. It comes from YEARS of disappointment.  I mean, when I was younger, I definitely went into the holiday with high hopes.  You put your little paper bag at the end of your desk and wait, trembling with anticipation, for that one boy that you’ve loved from afar to make his way over and declare his love in the form of a Bugs Bunny valentine.  Guess what?  The boy that you’ve loved from afar is NEVER the one that makes his way over. (In my case, it was usually because he turned out to be gay.) Usually, it’s the boy that eats glue that comes over, and drops something that HE finds sentimental in there.. a half-eaten cookie, or a colored paper clip. (Read more at the link above.)

For 2007:

This year will make for a pretty married-and-grown-up Valentine’s Day, because I will spend mine in a dress-dress rehearsal, and you will spend yours with your son.  Our lives, although happy, have maintainted a break-neck pace that we established pretty early on.  It’s nice to know that we function like this, because we can do anything and not be stressed.

I feel like I write pretty sappy stuff about us regularly enough that the general public knows I’m crazy about you.  I often look at you while you sleep and think, “Man, how lucky are we to be married AND in love?  We must be doing something right.”  And I think we are.  I think we’re very blessed people, you and I.  We enjoy eachother.

My favorite part about “us” is how we are our own people entirely, and we still mesh so well.  We did not need to adapt at all when we started dating; our rhythms just synched up.  I see people who mold themselves to who they’re involved with, and I wonder how they can be happy like that.  It’s so much more fun when you get to be yourself, through and through, and there’s no false exterior.

You are, undoubtedly, everything I never knew I always wanted, and you’ve taught me worlds about what it means to be in love and to let myself be loved.  I love being a team with you, and I can’t wait to see what comes in the future.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Bryan.  I love you mightily.