“You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful, it’s true. “

It’s no secret that I met Olin on Eharmony. Because I had a success story, I will forever suggest that site. I suppose it’s all a matter of personal opinion. Eharmony is a complex site where you have to go through “stages” of talking with someone before you are allowed to have open communication. This is to insure that you match on several different levels before you commit to becoming emotionally attached. Olin and I communicated for a couple of months before our first night on the phone. Six wonderful hours later, we decided to meet. Within a few days, we were an item.

Olin and I consider our date of officially beginning to date to be October 26, 2007. We did a lot of talking and getting to know one another. After all, we weren’t getting any younger and didn’t want to waste each others time if we weren’t compatible. I can honestly say that Olin is the first person that I ever have been ENTIRELY up front and honest with. Not that I told people that I was someone that I wasn’t but I never told them everything. Everything I am is a lot for me to handle at times. I can only imagine if you are someone looking in from the outside. Anyway…..On our first “date”, Olin asked me if anyone had ever told me how beautiful I was. It took me a second to reply, as I told him simply that nobody had ever told me-in my entire life-that I was beautiful. It’s something that bothered me from time to time but nothing I wallowed in. After all, I had a sorry opinion of myself. Why should anyone else think any better? He was genuinely surprised and immediately told me that I was beautiful. And then he kissed me. For the first time ever. Little did I know that night, but it would be my LAST “first kiss” ever.

All of this to say: I know that there are times I fuss about how messy my husband is, how scatter-brained he can be, among a list of many other things. However, when we celebrated our 3 year anniversary of dating yesterday, I realize the one thing he does do. EVERY DAY, for the past 1095 days of my life, I have heard every day that I am beautiful. Whether it’s in his “good morning beautiful” when I roll out of bed, no make-up (which is common) and my hair all over my head…..or if it’s when I come out of the bathroom after getting dressed to go on a date with him. He has not missed a single day in over 1000 days. He was the only one to say it to me on the day we were married-and somehow, that was ok. After all, his opinion was the only one I was worried about. He is the one to tell me when I am sick as a dog and have been in the bed for a couple days. He is the one to tell me when we have been confined inside a truck with one another for weeks at a time…when others would be ready to push the other half out of the truck, he greets me with a kiss and “hey beautiful”.

He totally makes up for the first 30 years of not hearing it. Today, I am thankful that God redeemed it. And boy, did He ever redeem it! I love you, Olin, and look forward to the next 30 years!!

(by the way…You’re not so bad yourself!)