The Happiest Ever After...

 

Once upon a time...

            ...there was a girl that often dreamed about love, and her greatest wish was to find a man worthy to take her to the temple one day and marry her forever. The world told her that love was something that just happened to you, something you couldn't chose. It told her that when she met that "one person" for her, fireworks would go off, choirs of Heavenly angels would sing, and she would "just know" that he was "the one" for her. 

            Then one day this girl met a man named Charlie Brown.  When they met, there were no fireworks or Heavenly angels singing, and the only thing she "just knew" was that he had a funny name. She went about her life dating other men and looking for "the sign" that would tell her who "the one" was. 

            As she continued to date, making mistakes, and even getting her heart broken once or twice, she learned that what the world told her about love wasn't true.  Love wasn't something that "just happened" to you, it was something much more deliberate and infinitely more wonderful.  Finding eternal love wasn't really about identifying that "one right" person, rather it was about choosing the person she thought she could be the happiest with, the person she wanted to share her life with. So she made a list of all the attributes and qualities she wanted him to have and she compared every man she dated to this list. 

            Then one day the girl was walking to Sunday school when Charlie Brown pulled her aside and asked her if she would consider going on a date with him.  She was shocked to learn that he was interested in her.  You see, she had never considered the possibility of dating Charlie Brown.  It wasn't that she didn't think he was cute, because she did, and it wasn't that she thought he wasn't her type because...well I guess she had just never considered him. But she realized that even though she hadn't ever considered him, she had definitely noticed him.  She noticed how he honored his priesthood and had a strong testimony. She noticed how he treated those around him with respect and had a strong desire to serve. She noticed how he always went out of his way to get a smile out of someone who looked down and how he held the door open for all women, not just the ones he was trying to impress. In fact, once she started considering it, she couldn't believe she had never considered it before, because she noticed that he had many of the attributes on her list. 

            So she said yes, and as they started dating, she noticed more wonderful things about him. She noticed that he made her laugh every day, and that they could have fun doing everything or nothing together.  She noticed how he adored her and couldn't go a day without seeing or speaking to her. She noticed that he respected her and accepted her even with all of her imperfections. And then one day she noticed that he loved her, more than any man had loved her, and she noticed that she loved him too. They both decided that they could be happy together, and he promised her that if she would choose him, he would make her laugh every day.  So on June 17, 2000, Charlie Brown took the girl to the temple and married her for all eternity.

            13 years later, the girl hasn't once regretted that choice. They have gone through many struggles and shared some major heartbreaks. But to this girl, happily ever after means enduring the hard times and then reaching for each other at the end of the day, it means kissing goodbye even when you're mad at that person, it means bringing her tomatoes and sunflowers instead of chocolate and roses, and it means finding a moment to say I love you, even when they're both half asleep.  He kept his promise to make her laugh every day, and he can still give her butterflies in her stomach with just one look. The past 13 years have been happiest ever after so far, and she looks forward to an eternity more. 

            You're a good man Charlie Brown and I ce-love you!  Thank you for being my love, my best friend, my partner in crime, my companion in life...my everything.  The greatest gift I could ever give our children, I gave to them 13 years ago today when I married you. There are no words adequate enough, so I'll just see you later...Happy anniversary!