Nineteen Years and Counting

First date, 2011

Once upon a time, nineteen years ago tomorrow, a tall, skinny guy with curly black hair put his arm around this girl during a prayer. When the "amen" was over, we looked at each other and said, "We need to talk." You see, our friendship had been growing rapidly that winter semester, but we had both adamantly denied anything more was brewing. We were "just friends." And yet, when he pressed my ear to his chest during the prayer, when his fingers wove through mine earlier that evening, nothing felt more right.
"What are we doing?"
"I don't know."
"Where do we want this to go."
Neither of us knew the answer, except that we knew we didn't want it to stop. So, we decided to "see where it went and go from there." I was unofficially his girlfriend from that moment on, and I haven't regretted it since. We went on our first date two nights later, and we'll go on one tomorrow night, too. It's tradition, after all.
I used to hear people say "I love her more now than I did back then" about spouses they've been with a long time. I'd inwardly roll my eyes. How could I possibly love him more? But it's true.
In young romance, so much is about infatuation and attraction and feelings. Sure, you talk and get to know each other some, but nothing like what you learn by living together for fifteen and a half years.
And I am still learning things about my husband. He'll mention a story about something that happened when he was growing up, and I'll say, "I didn't know that about you." "Didn't you?" "No." "Huh." And our likes and dislikes change and merge, too, as we grow closer together. We learned to lean on each other through hard times and lean times. We've learned (to a point) what makes the other happy, and try to do little things just to get a smile.
I can't imagine doing life with anyone else. And I can't wait to see what's ahead as we continue to "see where this thing goes from here."
Did you and your spouse stumble into your relationship? Did you deny the growing feelings until you couldn't any more? I love stories like that, maybe because I lived one. Feel free to share yours!