Dearest,

It would not be enough to say I am celebrating. The closest I can come to say what I mean is that I am rejoicing today. No, it's not a birthday; it isn't Christmas, or any other special holiday. But it is a day worth rejoicing in, anyway.

Today I rejoice for it is the date of the day I met you, my love. Today is a day to rejoice in you.

It seemed so long ago, yet I can still recall almost every detail - what you wore that day, the way your eyes shone, the little ray of sunlight falling on your hair, the smile that lit up your whole face, and the gentleness in your voice. "Hello", you said. I couldn't speak then, but my heart answered. One word - that's all it took. There were no candle lights, or music, or red roses scattered around. There were no big gestures, or trumpets blaring in extravagant professions of love. There were no expensive little trifles, nothing so clich?. There was only that soft, yet unrelenting insistence of a love wanting to grow, yet somehow, the cost was the greatest because it was my heart.

I still keep the tickets of that first movie we watched. Oh, that first kiss was the sweetest of kisses, but I remember more the feeling of when you held my hand for that first time. It was when I knew I wasn't dreaming. I knew you were real. I knew that I could love you forever, and that you would let me. What scares me most is not that you don't love me, rather it is that you do. I don't know what I could have done, or who I have been to deserve that. I don't know what makes you stay. I don't know what it is about me that makes you happy. I don't know what you see when you look at me.

Are you the man of my dreams? I don't know that either. It doesn't even matter. All I know is that you are the man that made me dream again, just by being there. I know that you are here to stay, that you are happy in a way that I am part of that happiness. I know that when you look at me, I am beautiful. That is enough. I will let your love conquer all my fears, as it has conquered all of me. When all the fear is gone, only you will remain.

I used to laugh at the lines "my heart skipped a beat", or "I can't catch my breath", and "my knees went weak" - that is, until I realized they were true. There I was walking with "a silly grin on my face", and I was on "cloud nine!"

I have said "I love you" before, but you made me realize that this time, when I say it, I know what it means, and that you have taught me. It is the frailest of things surviving the strongest of storms. It is the smallest of things reminding you of the happiest of times. It is the simplest touch of your hand reaching and taking a hold of my being. It is the words that you whisper to me, seeping in and echoing in my soul. It is you standing by me through some of the worst times of my life, and you withstanding the worst of me. It is you calming me through my tantrums, and sitting through the abuse of my moods. It is you doing it all with such ease and comfort in that quiet strength. You taught me that love does not take any effort, nor is it a sacrifice. You taught me that love simply IS.

So, today I rejoice in the fact that on a day not unlike this one, with nothing special about it, no historic events, you came along and my forever in you began.