To Hans & Candiline

today my little brother is getting married.

he is marrying a woman that, for the past five years, i have called my sister-in-law.

he loves her.

i love her.

a little over three years ago it was my wedding day and two things happened that night.

first…i chose to not throw my bouquet but to “pass my torch.”

…as i gave up my flegle name…i handed it off to the woman that i knew would, one day, bare it with honor and pride.

second….my brother stood up with me…as my “man of honor.”

i made him give a toast.

oops.

he said that my husband was kind and always willing to help (true) and that it was good….

because his sister (me) was “really high-maintenance.”

(gee, thanks man-of-honor!!)

over the past three years i have learned that he was not wrong…that i am high maintenance…but that we all are.

marriage is high maintenance.

falling in love is easy…staying in love takes work …maintaining love takes work.

it takes intention….dedication and perseverance.

so today…as my favorite little brother and my brand new little sister join their souls and their lives as one…

i pray that you will not travel a road that is without challenges…not a road that is smooth and clean and that is low maintenance.

i pray that your journey will be one that challenges you and that will stretch your love to greater depths.

a journey that will force you to grow individually…and that will ultimately force you to continually choose each other.

i pray that you will never stop yearning to please…seeking to know…or learning to be one.

i pray that you will never again see each other as you do today but that you see each other with new eyes…every morning….

as long as you both shall live.

i love you, hans and candiline!

happy happily ever after!

xoxo